UN8VERSITY  OF  CALIFORNI 
LOS  ANGELES 


CfflN^S 
NEWDiOr 


I5AM:TnEADLlM) 


The  o  .    ^-s  o{  Unit  ^ 
from  the  Wome  's  Pr- 
or  from  the  he*    i«i 
mittee  on  the  U   itec 
Medford,  Mass. 


ks     *n  be  ordered 

Foreign  Missio  *  . 

he  Central  Com- 

>f  Missions,  West 


Pri  a,  in  paper,  w"      j^    il, 

35  cents 

In  clo'a,  posti.-iid 

57  cents 

THE  B^^GiNNU^CS  OF  M»SS1C^ 

(Via  Christi) 

SE  M.   HODGKINS 

INDIA 

(Lux  Christi) 

ROLINE  A.  MASON 

CHINA 

(Rex  Chris».i8) 

RTHUR  H.  SMITH 

JAPAN 

'Dux  Cbri-"*  .8)                 E 

ELLIOTT  GRIFFIS 

"^                 '  ••  ?  i»or) 

By 

bLLEN  C.  PARSONS 

'^        ISLAi             ^RLD  C^ 

PACIFIC 

''.hristu"   ^    lemptt  r^ 

^.  MONTGOMERY 

V       IONS  A.,0  SOCiA 

Gloria  ChristiJ 

JA  R,  B.  LINDSAY 

.'.  N^\REP  A.NC  F-  ''    i;     - 

^A6i 

'        ine  ^t.          of  .  .>.    em 

md  of  Siam,  Burma,  and 

Korea. 

r,* 

By  SAMUEL  M.  ZWEMER,  F.R.G.S.,  and 
ARTHUR  JUDSON  BROWN,  D.D. 
THE  GOSPEL  IN  LATIN  LANDS 

Outline  Studies  of  Protestant  Work  in  the  Latin  Countries  of 
Europe  and  America. 

By  FRANCIS  E.  CLARK,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  and 
HARRIET  A.  CLARK 
WESTERN  WOMEN  IN  EASTERN  LANDS 

By  HELEN  BARRETT  MONTGOMERY 
THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  WORLD 

By  ROBERT  E.  SPEER 
A  brief  Comparative  Study  of  Christianity  and  Non-Christian 
Religions. 


CHINA'S 

NEW  DAY 


Princess  Su,  Whose  Husband  Gave  His  Palace  for 
Christians  During  Boxer  Siege 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

A  STUDY  OF  EVENTS  THAT  HAVE 
LED  TO  ITS  COMING 


ISAAC   TAYLOR  HEADLAND,  D.D. 


AUTHOR   OF 

SOME  BY-PRODUCTS  OF  MISSIONS.      COURT  LIFE  IN  CHINA. 
THE  CHINESE  BOY  AND  GIRL.        CHINESE  MOTHER  GOOSE. 


PUBLISHED   BY 


(S:f)e  Central  Committee  on  ti)t  ?Sniteb  ^tubp  of  iflisstiond 
?!i2iegt  jKIetiforb,  i&a66at\)uittti 


CGPVRiGttT,  Apkil,  igi2 


CENTRAL  COMMITTEE  ON  THE  UNITED 
STUDY  OF  MISSIONS 


Frank  Wood,  Printer 
Boston,  Mass. 


I3S 
773 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 

FOREWORD vii 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST  .        .  1 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  CHINESE  WOMAN       .        .        .        .        45 

CHAPTER  III. 

AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION    .        .        88 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  CHINESE  CHURCH       ....      138 

CHAPTER  V. 

MEDICAL  WORK   ...  .        .      177 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  PRINTED  PAGE 221 


3U46(>6 


FOREWORD 

The  Central  Committee  believes  that  it  has  been 
led  providentially  to  the  study  of  China  at  a  great 
crisis  in  her  history.  Until  November  the  Committee 
confidently  expected  to  publish  a  book  on  another  sub- 
ject; but  the  serious  illness  of  the  author  compelled  a 
sudden  change.  The  Committee  was  led  to  write  to 
Dr.  Headland  who  responded  to  the  request  that  he 
write  a  book  on  present  conditions  in  China  with  a 
time  limit  of  six  weeks.  He  has  completed  the  task 
and  the  Committee  issues  this  unique  book  on  China 
on  the  date  intended.  Dr.  Headland  from  his  long 
residence  in  Peking  has  had  the  advantage  of  observing 
at  olose  range  the  remarkable  events  and  characters  of 
the  past  decade,  while  Mrs.  Headland,  in  her  position 
of  physician  to  the  princesses,  had  unusual  opportunities 
to  study  the  women  of  the  highest  class.  And  now 
China  has  this  day,  February  12th,  been  declared  a 
Republic.  With  the  study  of  our  book  begins  a  new 
era.  Sun  Yat  Sen,  who  has  done  so  much  to  free 
China,  is  a  rare  man  the  highest  type  of  Christian 
patriot.  The  future  of  China  now  depends  largely  on 
the  attitude  of  the  Christian  Church  and  her  response 
to  the  needs  of  the  Chinese.  How  marvellously  "God 
is  working  his  purpose  out."  He  has  opened  the  doors 
and  waits  for  us  to  say  whether  the  earth  shall  be 
filled  with  His  knowledge. 

May  the  study  of  this  book  lead  us  all  to  a  new 
understanding  of  His  plan  and  power  and  to  a  new 
devotion  to  his  cause. 

Mrs.  Henry  W.  Peabody. 
Miss  E.  Harriet  Stanwood. 
Mrs.  Decatur  M.  Sawyer. 
Mrs.  Frank  Mason  North. 
Miss  Grace  T.  Colburn. 
Miss  Rachel  Lowrie. 
Mrs.  a.  V.  Pohlman. 
Miss  Olivia  H.  Lawrence. 


The   Qlteue   Line,  Getting  Ready  for  Church, 
Academy,  Nanking 

Presbyterian  Board 


J' 

-My 

Students,  Canton  Christian  Collecje 

Presbyterian  Board 


CHAPTER   I 

T?£E    BREAK    WITH    THE    PAST 

The  China  which  is  so  rapidly  emerging^ 
could  never  have  been  developed  by  orderly  evo- 
lution from  the  old  China  so  swiftly  passing 
away.  There  had  to  be  a  definite  break  with  the 
past,  a  frank  abandonment  of  certain  outgrown 
ideals,  and  an  adoption  of  certain  new  principles 
and  methods  from  without. 

One  of  the  most  powerful  factors  in  the  creation 
of  the  New  China  has  been  and  is  the  process  of 
dissociation  with  the  past  and  a  deliberate 
change  of  attitude.  For  millenniums  China's  face 
has  been  toward  the  past.  Her  literature,  her 
government,  her  social  life  have  all  deified  the 
past  and  subordinated  the  present. 

It   is  the  aim  of  the  present   chapter  to  trace  ^^^  ^f 
some  of  the  influences  which  have  contributed  to  Chapter, 
bring  about  this  most  remarkable  intellectual  revo- 
lution of  a  whole  people  (for  it  is  nothing  less) 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

Some  such   survey    is   necessary    if  we   ai'e   to   Necessary   to 
measure  the  factors  which  to-day  are  making  a   Correct  Un- 
new  China.      Without   this   revolution   in   view-     ^"  ^"  '"^' 
point  and  polity  all  the  other  factors  would  be 
impotent   to  bring  about    in    a    decade    changes 
which    intelligent    observers     had     expected     to 


2 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 


Chino-Japa 
nese  War. 


Battle  of 
Assam. 


take  at  least  a  century  or  two.  The  first  I  shall 
mention  is  the  Chino-Japanese  War. 

In  June,  1894,  I  started  from  Peking  for  a  trip 
to  Korea.  When  I  boarded  the  steamer  at  Tient- 
sin, I  had  heard  no  murmurings  of  war.  When 
I  landed  at  Chefoo  three  days  later,  1  went  on 
shore  amidst  companies  of  Japanese  soldiers, 
horses,  provisions,  ammunition,  and  all  the 
equipments  of  an  army.  The  bluff  was  covered 
with  Koreans,  clothed  in  white  smocks  and  horse- 
hair hats,  sitting  smoking  long-stemmed  pipes, 
as  unconcerned  as  though  nothing  was  happen- 
ing, with  no  regard  for  the  fact  that  by  their  in- 
viting the  Chinese  to  come  over  and  put  down  a 
rebellion,  they  had  involved  the  two  greatest 
nations  of  the  Orient  in  a  war  which  was  to 
establish  the  reputation  of  the  one  as  a  fighter, 
and  to  awaken  the  other  to  a  realization  of  her 
weakness. 

A  few  nights  later  I  was  called  by  Dr.  George 
Heber  Jones,  with  whom  I  was  staying,  to  see 
before  our  door  a  compan}'  of  Japanese  soldiers 
stacking  arms,  and  then  a  half  hour  later  to  see 
them  take  up  their  arms,  fall  into  line,  and  march 
away  as  silently  as  the  proverbial  Arab.  The 
next  morning  it  was  reported  that  the  battle  of 
Assam  had  been  fought,  the  Chinese  had  been 
defeated,  and  the  gun  had  been  fired  which  was 
to  awaken  China,  subjugate  Korea,  and  make 
Japan,  for  a  time  at  least,  a  leader  in  the  progress 
of  the  Orient. 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST      3 

For  several  years  previously  the  Japanese  had  Preparing  for 
been  preparing  for  this  struggle.  They  had  War. 
their  students  in  our  colleges  and  universities, 
their  business  men  in  all  the  Oriental  ports, 
and  their  army  officers  studying  all  the  lan- 
guages of  Europe  and  gathering  up  all  the 
information  about  China  that  might  be  of  interest 
or  assistance  in  the  coming  struggle.  I  myself 
taught  the  major,  who  afterwards  sounded  the 
harbors  of  the  Gulf  of  Pechelee,  distinguished 
himself  during  the  war,  and  returned  as  general 
to  take  charge  of  the  troops  in  China  when  it  was 
over. 

There   was  another  factor   which   contributed.    Sending  New 
though  in  a  more  quiet  way,  to  the  awakening  of  Testament 
China.      This  was  the  sending  of  the  New  Testa-   "**"  Palace, 
ment    as    a     birthday    present    to     the    Empress 
Dowager. 

In  1894  the  Christian  women  in  China — 
European,  American  and  Chinese — decided  to 
pay  their  respects  to  the  Empress  Dowager.  This 
year  she  celebrated  with  great  pomp  her  sixtieth 
birthday.  Never  perhaps  since  the  days  of 
K'ang  Hsi  and  Ch'ien  Lung  had  preparations 
been  made  on  so  large  a  scale.  A  stone  road  had 
been  built  from  Peking  to  the  summer  palace, 
fifteen  miles  west  of  the  capital.  Silver  was  sent 
in  from  all  the  provinces  in  great  quantities,  and 
presents  began  to  pour  in  from  all  parts  of  the 
empire.  The  Christian  women  from  England 
and  America,  and  the   Christian  Chinese  ladies. 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 


Printed  with 

New  Type. 


Chinese  Love 
Ceremony 


decided  to  give  the  Empress  Dowager  a  birthday 
present. 

After  discussing  the  matter  in  several  meetings, 
a  committee  was  appointed,  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment was  selected  as  the  most  appropriate  present 
to  be  given  on  that  occasion.  New  type  was  at 
once  cast;  it  was  printed  on  the  best  of  foreign 
paper,  was  bound  in  silver,  embossed  bamboo 
pattern,  inclosed  in  a  silver  box,  which  was 
placed  in  a  red  plush  box,  which  in  turn  was  in- 
closed in  a  beautifully  carved  teakwood  box,  and 
the  whole  put  in  an  ordinary  pine  box,  and  sent 
to  the  British  and  American  ministers,  who  sent 
it  to  the  foreign  office,  whence  it  was  carried  to 
the  palace  to  Her  Majesty.  These  ladies  put  all 
the  ceremony  they  could  into  the  preparation  and 
transmission  of  their  present,  knowing  that  cere- 
mony would  play  as  large  a  part  in  its  acceptance 
as  would  the  gift  itself. 

The  Chinese  love  ceremony.  We  do  not.  We 
ineet  a  man  on  the  street,  and  with  a  wave  of  the 
hand  and  a  "how  do  you  do,"  we  rush  on  as 
though  to  overtake  the  flight  of  time.  The 
Chinese  are  never  in  a  hurry.  They  have  gone 
quietly  and  restfully  on  for  so  many  centuries 
that  it  never  occurs  to  them  that  there  is  any  need 
for  hurry.  A  man  meets  another  on  the  street, 
makes  a  polite  bow,  says  a  few  words,  makes 
another  polite  bow  and  says  a  few  words  more, 
then  another  polite  bow,  and,  with  "I'll  see  you 
again,"  passes  quietly  and  slowly  on  and  it  seems 
restful  to  see  him  do  it. 


TUB  BREAK  WITH  THE   PAST      5 

The  Empress  Dowager  had  the  pine  box 
opened,  as  all  presents  to  Her  Majesty  had  to  be 
opened,  in  her  presence.  There  was  the  beauti- 
fully carved  teakwood  box,  carved  like  the  frame 
of  her  portrait  which  is  now  in  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  in  Washington. 

Next  appeared  the  red  plush  box.  Red  is  the  Red  the  Sign 
sign  of  happiness  in  China.  The  bride's  dress  of  Happiness. 
is  red;  the  chair  in  which  she  rides  is  red;  New 
Year's  gifts  are  wrapped  in  red  and  tied  with  a 
red  string, — everything  that  signifies  happiness 
is  red, — and  so  these  ladies  silently  wished  the 
Empress  Dowager  happiness  on  her  sixtieth 
birthday,  and  she  understood  the  wish. 

Next  appeared   a  silver  box  suggestive  of  the   sji^g^  -Qq-x. 
silver  basis  of  China's  monetary  system.     Within 
that  was  the  Word  of  God  bound  in  silver. 

We  do  not  know  what  influence  the  New  Tes-  Qr&axmss  of 
tament  had  upon  that  great  woman — and  she  was  the  Dowager, 
a  great  woman.  She  was  born  in  a  humble 
home.  She  was  taken  into  the  palace  at  sixteen 
years  of  age  and  made  the  concubine  of  the 
Emperor,  a  condition  which  no  member  of  the 
Manchu  race  covets  for  his  daughter.  She 
studied  until  she  could  read  the  classical  language 
as  well  as  the  officials  could  read  it;  and  she  so 
approved  herself  to  the  ladies  of  the  court  that 
she  was  elevated  to  the  position  of  Kiici fei  or 
first  concubine.  She  became  the  mother  of  the 
Emperor's  only  son,  and  was  raised  to  the  posi- 
tion of  wife.      Her   husband   died  when   her  son 


6  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

was  only  three  years  of  age,  and  she  contrived  to 
have  him  pL^ced  upon  the  throne,  with  herself  as 
regent  dvirine  his  minority.  In  order  to  do  this 
it  was  necessary  for  her  to  sweep  from  the  board 
seven  princes  who  were  anxious  to  take  control 
of  affairs. 
Puts  Kuang  During  these  years  of  regency  she  found  time, 

Hsii  on  among  other    duties,  to    make    matches    for    her 

Throne.  sisters  and  brothers.      She  had  her  younger  sister 

married  to  her  husband's  younger  brother,  thus 
making  her  the  mother  of  the  present  line  of 
rulers.  Her  son  died  as  soon  as  he  reached  his 
majority,  and  that  same  night  she  went  out  to 
her  sister's  home,  and  brought  in  her  three-and-a- 
half-year-old  boy.  The  next  morning,  when  she 
announced  the  death  of  her  son,  she  proclaimed 
this  child  as  his  successor  under  the  dynastic 
title  of  Kuang  Hsii,  or  brilliant  succession,  with 
herself  as  regent  again  during  his  minority. 
When  he  failed  to  rule  according  to  the  ideas  of 
his  people,  she  was  compelled  to  dethrone  him; 
and,  when  she  was  about  to  die,  she  selected  her 
sister's  grandson,  little  Pu  Yi,  and  placed  him 
upon  the  throne.  Here  we  have  the  spectacle  of 
a  little  girl,  born  in  a  humble  home,  being  made 
the  concubine  of  an  emperor,  the  wife  of  an 
emperor,  the  mother  of  an  emperor,  the  maker  of 
two  emperors,  the  regent  for  two  emperors,  the 
dethroner  of  an  emperor,  and  the  ruler  of  four 
hundred  millions  of  people  for  forty-seven  years, 
in  a  country  where  women  are  supposed  to  have 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST      7 

no    power, — a   great  woman    in     the    nineteenth 
century. 

It  was  this  great  woman  to  whom  these  Chris-  The  Bit^gest 
tian  women  decided   to  give  a  birthday  present,    Thing  m  the 
and  they  selected  the  New  Testament.      Whether        °^    ' 
Her  Majesty  read   it  or  not  we  do  not  know,  but 
it  may  have  been   its    inspiration  that   led   her  to 
decide  to  blot  out  the  opium' traffic,  and  to  give 
a  constitution  to  her  people;  two  decisions   that 
are  worthy  of  the  greatest  ruler  that  has  ever  sat 
upon  the  Dragon  Throne. 

Whatever  its  influence  upon  the  Empress  Emperor 
Dowager,  we  know  what  the  result  was  on  the  ^"^^  Bible, 
mind  of  Kuang  Hsu,  for  the  next  morning  after 
it  was  taken  into  the  palace,  he  sent  out  to  the 
American  Bible  Society  and  bought  an  Old  and 
New  Testament,  such  as  were  being  sold  to  the 
common  people. 

A   few   days   later  a   gardener,  who   furnished   pj-ig^j  Visits 
flowers  and  vegetables  to  the  palace,  came  to  me  Palace, 
and    said:    "Mr.    Headland,    something  unusual 
is  taking  place  in  the  palace." 

"Why  do  you  think  so.'^"   I  asked. 

"Well,"  he  answered,  "the  eunuchs  won't  talk 
about  anything  but  Christianity.  They  kept  me 
talking  until  dinner  time,  and  when  I  wanted  to 
leave  they  would  not  let  me  go.  They  continued 
to  ply  me  with  questions  until  I  was  so  hungry 
that  I  said,  'I  must  go  home  and  get  my 
dinner. '  " 

"  ^  Pi'eh  7nang^  pieh  mang^ '  the  eunuchs  urged. 


8  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

'Don't  be  in  a  hurry,  we  are  just  about  to  have 
a  feast  brought  in,  and  you  must  stay  and  eat 
with  us;'  and  they  kept  me  there  till  dark,  trying 
to  find  out  all  they  could  about  the  Christian 
religion.  Something  unusual  is  taking  place." 
t:  a  few  days  later  they  invited  him  to  bring  the 

bmperor  j  j  o 

Studies  assistant    pastor    into    the    palace    to    dine   with 

Gospel  of  them,  to  teach  them  more  about  Christianity  ;  and 

L"^^-  during  the  conversation  they  told  my  friends  that 

the  Emperor  had  a  portion  of  the  Gospel  of  Luke 

copied    in   large   characters   each   day,  which   he 

spread  out  on  the  table  before  him,  "and,"  said 

the  eunuch  who  stood  behind   his  chair  while  he 

studied,  "I  can   look   over   his  shoulder,  and   see 

what   he  is  doing,  he  is  studying  Liichia  fii  yin^ 

— the  Gospel  of  Luke." 

r>      1  ^  We   can    never    understand    the    awakening    of 

JJeveiopment  '^ 

ofKuangHsiJ.  China  without  understanding  something  of  the 
character  and  development  of  Kuang  Hsii.  Re- 
member that  he  was  taken  out  of  the  world,  where 
he  was  free  to  learn  everything,  into  the  palace, 
where  he  was  expected  to  follow  in  the  footsteps 
of  his  ancestors  whose  faces  were  always  turned 
toward  the  past;  and  where  he  did  not  have  a 
single  child  to  play  with,  and  only  eunuchs, 
serving  girls,  court  ladies  and  the  two  Dowagers 
as  his  associates,  with  every  wish  gratified. 

The  eunuchs  went  out  into  the  city  and  bought 

Eunuchs    Buy 

To  s  for  Em-   ^''""^  ioy^ — Chmese  toys.      He  did  not  like  them. 

peror.  They   finally   found   a    foreign  store  on   Legation 

Street,  where    they    bought   him    some    of  those 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST      9 

foreign  mechanical  toys  which  he  wound  up  and 
set  going,  and  that  was  what  he  wanted — some- 
thing that  would  go.  He  played  until,  like 
Budge  and  Toddy,  he  wanted  to  know  "what 
made  the  wheels  go  wound,  "  and  he  broke  his  toy 
and  found  a  spring  within. 

The  eunuchs  bought  him  other  toys  including  Watches 
Swiss  watches  and  cuckoo  clocks.  I  went  through  and  Clocks, 
his  palace  in  1901  with  a  pass  from  the  American 
soldiers  who  were  guarding  the  front  gate  while 
he  was  away  at  Sianfu.  There  was  a  long 
window  along  the  south  side  of  the  room  which 
was  filled  with  clocks  from  one  end  to  the  other, 
all  ticking  a  different  time.  There  were  tables 
about  the  room,  and  clocks  on  the  tables.  There 
was  a  beautiful  curly  maple  desk  with  a  clock 
upon  it.  I  sat  down  upon  a  French  chair  up- 
holstered in  red  plush,  and  a  music  box  began  to 
play  in  the  seat  of  the  chair.  This  was  attached 
to  an  electric  fan  upon  the  wall  which  kept  me 
cool  on  that  hot  August  day.  It  was  the  Em- 
peror's reading  chair,  the  eunuchs  told  me.  He 
could  sit  and  read,  and  listen  to  the  music,  and 
be  kept  cool  by  the  electric  fan.  This  boy,  taken 
out  of  the  world  at  three  and  a  half  years  of  age, 
had  all  these  toys  of  modern  times  in  the  palace. 

Then  he  heard   of  the  Juio  lun  eke — the  fire-   Railroad  in 
wheel  cart,    and    he   wanted  one.      He  thereupon   Palace, 
had  a  railroad  built  along  the  west  shore  of  the 
Lotus  Lake  in  the  palace  grounds,  and  two  little 
cars  and  an  engine  made  in  Europe  large  enough 


10 


CHINA'S   NE  W  DA  T 


Steam 
Launches  in 
Lotus  Lake. 


Telegraph. 


Telephc 


Phonograph. 


to  take  the  court  for  a  ride  on  this  newly  con- 
structed merry-go-round. 

He  then  heard  of  i\\e  ktio  lun  ch'uan — the  fire- 
wheel  boat,  and  he  had  small  steam  launches 
brought  into  the  palace  and  put  into  the  Lotus 
Lake  and  in  the  lake  at  the  summer  palace,  and 
these  he  could  attach  to  the  Empress  Dowager's 
barge  and  take  the  court  for  a  ride  about  the 
lake. 

Later  he  heard  of  a  method  of  sending  mes- 
sages by  a  flash  of  lightning.  He  got  the  tele- 
graph into  the  palace,  and  now  the  most  distant 
part  of  the  empire  is  tied  up  to  the  palace  by  the 
electric  wire. 

Then  he  heard  of  a  method  by  which  one  could 
talk  for  a  distance  of  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles, 
and  ready  to  believe  anything  he  heard  about 
these  foreigners  he  brought  the  telephone  into 
the  palace,  and  now  Peking  and  most  of  the 
other  Chinese  coast  cities  are  cobwebbed  with 
telephones. 

Finally  he  heard  about  the  talk-box.  We  hap- 
pened to  have  a  phonograph  in  our  physical  lab- 
oratory; the  orticials  came  and  bought  it,  and 
took  it  into  the  Emperor,  and  we  had  a  cine- 
matograph for  him  about  the  time  he  was  de- 
throned. He  brought  the  great  inventions  of 
modern  times  into  the  palace,  including  sleighs, 
carriages,  automobiles,  electric  lights,  and  every- 
thing that  would  add  to  his  intelligent  under- 
standing of  the  foreigner.      Then  he  had  the  New 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST     11 

Testament, — and  this  gave  him  an  inspiration, 
and  opened  up  to  him  a  new  line  of  investiga- 
tion. 

As  soon  as  Kuang  Hsii  began  to  study  his  New   Report  of 
Testament      it     was     commonly    reported    about   Emperor  Be- 
Peking  that   he  had  become  a  Christian.      It  was   coming  Chrii 
said   that   he  catechised   the   eunuchs,  and   would 
not  allow  them  to  pass  until   they  confessed   that 
they  worshiped  Jesus  Christ;   that  when  he  went 
to  the  temples  he  did  not  worship   the    idols,  but 
that    he    worshiped     Ti'e/i     C/i?i,     the    Lord    of 
Heaven. 

After  Kuang  Hsii  had  studied   his  New  Testa-   p^  »  „ 

a  Emperor 

ment  for  some  weeks,  a  eunuch  came  to  me  from  Buys 
the  palace,  saying:  "The  Emperor  has  heard  that  Books. 
there  are  a  great  many  books  translated  from  your 
honorable  Western  language  into  our  miserable 
Chinese  language,  and  he  would  like  to  have 
some."  Many  of  the  stories,  moreover,  that 
were  currently  reported  about  Peking  were  con- 
firmed by  this  eunuch. 

I  was  in  charge  of  two  tract  societies  and  the 
college  text-books,  and  I  sent  him  some  books. 
The  following  day  the  eunuch  came  again  and 
said,  "The  Emperor  wants  more  books."  I  sent 
him  more  books.  The  next  day  he  came  with 
the  same  request,  and  I  complied  in  a  like  man- 
ner. Every  day  for  six  weeks  that  emnich  came 
to  buy  more  books  for  the  Emperor,  until  he  had 
bought  every  book  that  had  been  translated  out 
of  the  European  languages  into  Chinese.      Some- 


12 


CHINAS  NEW  DAT 


Sent  Bicycle 
Into  Palace. 


Young  Schol- 
ars Follo'w 
Emperor  s 
Example. 


times  I  had  nothing  but  a  Christian  sheet  tract. 
Finally  I  had  to  go  into  my  wife's  private 
library  and  send  him  her  Chinese  medical  books. 

One  day  the  eunuch  saw  my  wife's  bicycle 
standing  on  the  veranda,  and  he  asked,  "  Che 
shih  shot  1U0  die?    What  kind  of  a  cart  is  this.-'" 

" Na  skih  ke  tze  hsi7ig  che.  That  is  a  self- 
moving  cart,"  I  answered. 

^^  Tse/i  9110  chl?  How  do  you  ride  it?"  he 
continued. 

I  took  it  down,  and  rode  a  few  times  around 
the  compound. 

"This  is  queer,"  he  exclaimed,  "why  doesn't 
it  fall  down?     It  only  has  two  wheels." 

"When  a  thing  is  moving,  it  can't  fall  down," 
I  assured  him. 

The  next  day  when  he  came  he  said,  "The 
Emperor  wants  this  bicycle."  And  so  I  sent  my 
wife's  bicycle  in  to  Kuang  Hsii,  and  it  was  re- 
ported a  short  time  afterwards  that  in  trying  to 
ride,  his  queue  had  become  entangled  in  the 
back  wheel  and  he  had  had  a  fall,  and  then  he 
gave  up  trying  to  ride  the  bicycle  as  many  another 
person  has  done. 

When  the  progressive  officials  and  young 
scholars  throughout'  the  empire  heard  that  the 
boy  Emperor  was  so  deeply  interested  in  all  kinds 
of  foreign  inventions  and  foreign  learning,  they 
rummaged  the  world  to  get  them  for  him,  certain 
that  if  they  succeeded  in  securing  anything  new 
or  unique,  they  would  have  better  prospects  of 
securing  an  official  position. 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST     13 

These  same  young  progressives  secured  per-  Reading 
mission  to  establish  reading  clubs,  and  one  of  Clubs, 
them  asked  me  to  send  in  their  subscription  for 
all  the  leading  American,  English,  German, 
French  and  Russian  magazines,  and  some  of  the 
leading  newspapers ;  not  simply  that  they  might 
have  some  place  to  go  to  spend  an  evening,  but 
that  they  might  keep  up  with  the  news  and 
progress  of  the  world. 

Newspapers    and    magazines    similar    to   those   Newspapers 
conducted  by  such  missionaries  as  Drs.  Young  J.    andMaga- 
Allen  and  Timothy  Richard  were  started  all  over  ^"i^^- 
the  empire,   and  began  to   have  a  perceptible   in- 
fluence on  the  development  of   a  political  as  well 
as    religious    sentiment    among    the    people,    for 
newsjDapers  up  to   that  time  were  practically  un- 
known.      Artists    and     caricaturists    soon    arose, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  it  began  to  be  a  ques- 
tion whether  the  pilot  had  complete  control  of  the 
ship   of    state.      English,    German     and     French   Dividing 
newspapers   in   all    the    open    ports   were    freely  '^"*'^^- 
discussing  the  spheres   of   influence   of  their  re- 
spective governments.      They  spoke  daily,  freely, 
impertinently,  insultingly,  of   dividing  China  up 
among     the     Powers,    until     every    schoolboy    in 
every  essay,  oration  or  debate,  discussed  the  best 
methods    of    reforming    their    government,    and 
making  China  strong  and  able    to  withstand   the 
incursions  of  Europe. 

All    this    time    Kuang    Hsii  was  studying    his   "•  China's 
books, — devouring   them   with    a   passion   which    Only  Hope." 


14  CHINA'S   NEW  DA  7' 

only  those  can  understand  who  know  the  Chinese 
character.  Chang  Chih-tung,  the  Viceroy  of 
Hunan  and  Hupeh,  was  writing  his  epoch- 
making  book,  "China's  Only  Hope,"  in  which 
he  was  urging  the  people  to  study  Japan,  and  the 
scholars  to  translate  books  from  all  the  European 
languages  into  Chinese,  but  especially  those 
books  which  had  contributed  to  make  Japan 
strong.  J''ipan  had  whipped  China;  now  let 
Japan  teach  China  how  she  did  it.  This  book 
was  sent  to  Kuang  Hsii.  He  wrote  an  intro- 
duction or  approved  of  it,  and  ordered  that  it  be 
published  in  large  editions  and  scattered  broad- 
cast over  the  empire.  Yellow  posters  advertised 
it  on  every  wall  in  all  the  provincial  capitals,  and 
millions  were  published  and  read,  often  by 
readers  on  the  street  corners. 
A  Young  Kang  Yu-wei    in  the  south   was  writing  books 

Confucius.  which  wei"e  causing  hiin  to  be  called  the  young 
Confucius,  and  which  finally  won  for  him  a 
position  on  the  Board  of  Rites,  and  as  counselor 
of  the  Emperor  himself,  one  of  the  largest  oppor- 
tunities that  was  offered  to  any  man  during  the 
nineteenth  century. 
Trip  to  Japan.  After  Kuaiig  Hsu  had  taken  a  three  years' 
course  of  study  in  his  books  and  had  become 
acquainted  with  all  kinds  of  modern  invention, 
he  decided  to  take  a  trip  to  Japan.  This  was 
changed  to  a  trip  to  Tientsin,  and  finally  given 
up  altogether.  He  began  to  issue  his  reform 
edicts,  and  seldom  perhaps,  if  ever,  in  the  history 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST     15 

of  the  world  were  so  many  people  aroused  to  so 
high  a  pitch  of  excitement  over  the  prospects  of 
a  i^eaceful  reform  as  were  the  Chinese. 

Among  the  most  important  edicts  issued  was  Edicts — 
one  in  which  he  ordered  that  a  Board  of  Educa-  Board  of  Ed- 
tion  be  established,  with  a  university  in  Peking  ucation. 
and  a  college  in  the  capital  of  each  of  the 
provinces.  The  effect  of  this  edict  upon  the 
empire  has  been  tremendous.  Twenty-one  years 
ago  there  was  but  one  school  teaching  foreign 
learning  established  by  the  governm.ent.  Now 
there  are  reported  to  be  more  than  forty  thousand 
schools,  colleges  and  universities  engaged  in 
propagating  the  kind  of  learning  in  which  Kuang 
Hsii  was  interested.  China  has  entirely  over- 
turned her  old  system  of  education, — admitted  to 
be  the  greatest  that  was  ever  developed  by  a  non- 
Christian  people;  a  system  which  dominated  and 
developed  them  for  fifteen  hundred  years, — and 
has  definitely  committed  herself  to  the  system  of 
the  West. 

It   is  worthy  of  note  also,  that   the  new  system  American  In- 
is  almost  entirely  the  result  of  foreign  influence,   f l«ence  m  Ed- 
Almost   all   the   schools   and   colleges  opened    in  ""*'°°- 
China  up  to   that  time  were  by  American  mis- 
sionaries,   and    after    the    American   plan.      The 
first   six  colleges  and   universities   established  by 
the    government   were    opened    for   them   by   five 
men  who  went  to   China  as  missionaries,  four  of 
whom   were   Americans.      These   were   Drs.    W. 
A.    P.    Martin,  C.    D.    Tenney,   VV.    M.    Hayes, 


16 


CHINAS  NE  W  DA  T 


Missionary 
Influence  in 
Chinese  Edu- 
cation. 


Edict — 
Board  of 
R.ailroads. 


John  C.  Fergusson  and  Timothy  Richard.  The 
first  public  school  system  prepared  for  the  gov- 
ernment was  drawn  up  by  Dr.  W.  M.  Hayes  for 
Yuan  Shi  ki,  then  Governor  of  Shantung 
Province.  This  was  submitted  to  the  Empress 
Dowager,  received  her  approval,  and,  afttr  Gov- 
ernor Yuan  was  made  Viceroy  of  Chihli,  was 
put  into  operation  in  that  province,  with  some 
modifications  by  Dr.  C.  D.  Tenney.  At  the 
present  time  many  of  these  schools  have  been 
closed  for  lack  of  funds  and  competent  teachers, 
and  we  are  told  that  the  government  is  willing  to 
allow  the  missionaries  to  put  a  Christian  teacher 
into  any  one  of  these  schools  if  they  will  add  ten 
to  twenty  dollars  annually  toward  his  support. 
This  is  one  of  the  greatest  opportunities  before 
the  church  to-day. 

A  second  important  edict  issued  by  Kuang  Hsii 
was  the  establishment  of  a  Board  of  Railroads.  He 
had  had  his  little  railroad  in  the  palace  for  years. 
He  had  vision  enough  to  see  from  behind  his 
great  brick  walls  the  effect  that  the  building 
of  railroads  would  have  upon  the  development  of 
the  country,  and  upon  his  darling  project  of 
reform.  Twenty-one  years  ago  there  were  but 
one  hundred  miles  of  railroad  in  the  whole  em- 
pire. Another  had  been  built  at  Wu  Sung  in  the 
region  of  Shanghai,  but  the  Chinese  bought  it, 
and  then  tore  it  up  and  threw  it  into  the  river. 
At  the  present  time  there  are  about  seven  thou- 
sand miles  built,  five  thousand   miles  projected, 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST    17 

and  the  Chinese  have  just  borrowed  fifty  millions 
of  dollars  from  Europe  and  America  to  build 
another  thousand  miles  of  road  from  Hankow  to 
Szechuan. 

A  third  important  edict  ordered  the  establish-  Board  cf 
ment  of  a  Board  of  Mines.  There  is  probably  Mines. 
no  country  in  the  world  richer  in  mineral  deposits 
than  China  and  the  countries  around  her  border. 
Coal,  both  anthracite  and  bituminous,  iron,  S'^^'^'j 
silver,  quicksilver,  tin,  copper  and  precious 
stones — especially  jade — are  found  in  rich  depos- 
its. And  yet  I  have  seen  an  old  blind  woman  sit- 
ting on  the  bare  ground  in  the  cornfield  on  a  cold 
winter  day,  feeling  about  her  if  by  chance  she 
might  find  a  few  weeds  or  cornstalks  to  light  a 
fire  under  her  brick  bed  and  cook  her  morsel  of 
food,  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  just  beneath  her 
were  great  veins  of  coal,  if  only  they  dared  open 
the  earth  and  take  it  out.  This  they  did  not  dare 
to  do.  Do  you  ask  why?  There  were  spirits  in 
the  earth,  in  the  hills,  in  the  rivers,  in  the  moun- 
tains— spirits  everywhere.  They  did  not  dare  to 
open  mines  for  fear  of  disturbing  the  Fe7ig  shua, 
and  destroying  the  luck  of  the  neighborhood. 
The  only  mines  they  opened  were  those  where 
the  veins  of  coal  appeared  in  the  side  of  the  hill. 
(I  have  heated  my  house  in  Peking  with  as  good 
anthracite  coal  as  can  be  found  in  my  native  state 
of  Pennsylvania.  And  yet  every  bushel  of  coal  I 
have  burned  during  all  these  years  was  brought 
into  the  city   from  the   hills  twenty-five  or  thirty 


18 


CHINA'S   NEW  DAT 


Women's  In- 
fluence in 
China's 
Reform. 


Dismisses 
Officials. 


Emperor 
Sends  for 
Yuan  Shi  ki 


miles  distant,  on  the  backs  of  camels,  donkeys 
or  mules.)  Now  the  mines  are  being  properly 
opened  and  a  railroad  connects  them  with  the 
capital  and  with  a  system  of  roads  that  go  east, 
west,  north  and  south  from  Peking. 

Kuang  Hsii  issued  twenty-seven  such  great 
edicts  in  about  twice  as  many  days.  Why  .^  Was 
this  because  the  Christian  women  from  England 
and  America,  with  their  Christian  Chinese  sisters, 
sent  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  into  the  palace.'' 
It  was  the  sending  of  the  New  Testament  that 
led  the  Emperor  to  buy  books,  and  it  was  the 
study  of  these  books  that  gave  him  his  vision  of 
a  great  progressive  government. 

By  one  of  these  edicts  Kuang  Hsii  dismissed 
six  presidents  and  vice  presidents  of  the  Board  of 
Rites,  because  they  refused  the  people  the  privi- 
lege of  sending  sealed  memorials  into  the  palace. 
These  six  men,  with  other  disaffected  officials, 
went  to  the  summer  palace,  where  the  Empress 
Dowager  had  been  quietly  spending  the  hot 
months  of  the  summer  of  1898,  taking  no  hand  in 
his  reforms,  and  begged  her  to  come  into  the  city 
and  teach  him  how  to  guide  the  ship  of  state. 
She  listened  to  them,  dismissed  them,  but  gave 
no  indication  of  what  she  would  do. 

When  Kuang  Hsii  heard  what  they  had  done, 
he  sent  for  Yuan  Shi  ki,  who  was  in  charge 
of  12,500  troops  at  Tientsin,  summoned  him  to 
an  interview,  ordered  him  to  return  to  Tientsin, 
massacre  Jung  Lu,  the  Governor  General   of  the 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST    19 

province,  bring  his  troops,  and  imprison  the 
Empress  Dowager  in  the  summer  palace,  and  not 
allow  her  to  interfere  with  his  reforms.  At  this 
time  Kang  Yu-wei  was  the  chief  adviser  of  the 
Emperor. 

Yuan  knew   that  to  carry  out  this  order  with   Yuan  Dis- 
so  small    a    number    of    troops   at   his  command   obeys  Em- 
would  bring  on  a  revolution.      Jnng   Lu  was   his   peror. 
superior  officer.    Both  of  them  and  the  Emperor 
also  had  received  their  positions  at  the  hands  of 
the  Empress   Dowager,    and     to   assassinate   the 
one  and    imprison  the  other  on   the  order  of  the 
boy  Emperor  would  bring  calamity.      He  there- 
fore went  to  Jung  Lu,  showed  him  the  order,  and 
consulted  as  to  what  it  would  be  best  to  do. 

Jung   Lu    took   the  order,  went   to    Peking  by   jund  Lu. 
the  first   train,    hurried    to    the   summer,  palace, 
showed   it  to   the  Empress  Dowager,  and  urged 
her  to  take  the  throne  and  save  the  country,  while 
he    remained    in   general    control    of    the    army. 
The  Empress   Dowager  ordered   her  sedan  chair  Emperor  De 
and    her    most    faithful   eunuchs,   hurried  to  the  posed, 
city,     imprisoned    the    Emperor    in    the    winter 
palace,    and    once    more    took     control    of    the 
government. 

Kang  Yu-wei   fled.      The   Emperor  had   tried   Five  Young 
to  escape  to  the   British    Legation,  but  was  pre-  Reformers 
vented.      The  Empress   Dowager  arrested  five  of  Beheaded, 
the    young    reformers,   among    whom  was   Kang 
Yu-wei 's  brother,  and  had  them  summarily  be- 
headed for  having  misled  their  ruler, — one  of  the 


20 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 


Chinese  Port 
Taken  by 
Germany. 


Russia    Takes 
Two  Ports. 

Britain  Won. 
France   Won. 


most  culpable  acts,  so   far  as  we  know,  that  the 
Empress  Dowager  ever  performed. 

While  the  Emperor  was  issuing  his  great 
reform  edicts  in  harmony  with  the  wishes  of  the 
European  governments,  they  ought  to  have  given 
him  their  sympathy  and  support.  Did  they  do 
so.? 

About  this  time  there  were  two  German  priests 
massacred  in  Shantung.  The  German  Emperor 
was  anxious  to  get  a  foothold  in  the  East,  and  so 
ordered  the  troops  to  be  sent  to  China,  to 
make  themselves  a  terror  in  the  Orient.  This 
they  did.  They  compelled  China  to  pay  a 
heavy  indemnity  to  the  families  of  the  two  priests, 
and  to  rebuild  the  property  destroyed.  Surely 
that  was  enough.  But  it  was  not  enough  for  the 
German  Emperor.  He  took  the  port  of  Kiaochiao 
with  fifty  miles  of  territory  around  it.  That 
made  Yii  Hsien,  the  Governor  of  the  province, 
angry,  and  he  established  the  Big  Knife  Society 
with  the  intention  of  driving  the  Germans  out.' 
Germany,  however,  had  not  gotten  enough,  and 
she  compelled  the  Chinese  government  to  allow 
her  to  build  all  the  railroads  and  open  all  the 
mines  in  the  province.  She  had  her  sphere  of 
influence. 

As  soon  as  Russia  learned  what  Germany  had 
done,  she  demanded  and  received  Port  Arthur 
and  Dalney,  without  any  provocation  whatever. 
Britain  then  took  Wei  Hai  Wei,  likewise  with- 
out   provocation.       France    took    Kuang    Chou 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST    21 

Wan,  and  Italy  demanded  San  Men.  Never  in 
the  history  of  the  world  was  a  government  treated 
more  unjustly  than  China  was  treated  by  her 
strong  and  avaricious  neighbors,  when  she  was 
putting  forth  all  her  efforts  at  internal  reform- 
It  was  at  this  point  that  the  Empress  Dowager 
took  the  throne.  She  at  once  issued  secret 
edicts  to  the  viceroys,  telling  them,  ''We  will 
give  no  more  ports."  She  ordered  them  to  resist 
the  incursions  of  Europe  by  force,  saying,  "We 
will  trust  heaven  and   the  justice  of  our  cause." 

People   often    ask,  "Do  the   Chinese    like   the   Do  the 
foreigners.?"      What   is   there  about  that   kind  of  Cliinese  Like 
treatment  that  was  calculated  to  make  them  like  ^8? 
Europe?      The    Empress    Dowager    was    angry.      ^ 
Can  we  wonder.? 

For  two  years  the  country  was  in  a  ferment  Boxer 
which  resulted  in  the  Boxer  uprising  of  1900,  Uprising. 
But  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  Empress  Dow- 
ager persistently  refused  to  take  part  with  the 
Boxers,  until  their  leaders  forged  a  demand  on 
the  part  of  the  foreign  ministers  that  she  vacate 
the  throne  and  reinstate  Kuang  Hsii.  Jung  Lu 
was  in  charge  of  the  Imperial  troops  in  Peking; 
and  but  for  him  and  the  use  of  his  troops  and 
his  guns  in  defence  of  the  foreigners,  the  lega- 
tions must  have  fallen,  and  the  Chinese  Chris- 
tians, missionaries  and  niinisters  must  all  have 
been  massacred.  This  is  clearly  brought  out  by 
Bland  and  Backhouse  in  their  book,  "China 
Under  the  Empress  Dowager." 


22  CHINA'S  NBIV  DAT 

The  Court  in        For  two  years  reform  was  at  a  standstill.      But 
Exile.  while    the     court     was    in    exile    at    Sianfu,    the 

Empress  Dowager  reissued  all  the  important 
edicts  of  Kuang  Hsii,  with  a  determination,  a 
condition  and  a  power  back  of  the  edicts  that  they 
should  be  carried  out.  Slowly  but  surely  this 
was  being  done.  Yuan  Shi  ki  was  made 
Governor  of  Shantung,  and  at  once  he  began  to 
put  into  operation,  with  the  assistance  of  Dr. 
Hayes,  his  great  educational  Enterprises.  While  he 
^^^T^^  was  engaged  in  this  his  mother  died.     According 

to  the  customs  of  the  officials  he  sent  in  his  resig- 
nation. The  Empress  Dowager  refused  to  accept 
it,  saying  that  his  services  were  so  necessary  in  the 
present  crisis  that  he  must  retain  his  office. 
"But,"  she  added,  "it  is  quite  proper  that  you 
resign,  I  will,  however,  appoint  an  official  of 
your  own  rank  to  pay  his  respects  to  your 
mother's  spirit,  and  the  fact  that  she  has  borne  a 
son  who  is  so  great  as  to  be  indispensable  to  the 
government  will  be  sufficient  consolation  to  her 
spirit  to  allow  a  substitute  to  worship  in  your 
place." 
Woman  Saves  The  court  now  returned  to  Peking,  and  it  is 
the  Day.  worthy  of  note  that    it  was  a  woman  in  this  most 

important  crisis  that  saved  the  situation.  The 
Empress  Dowager  had  every  reason  to  hate  the 
governments  of  Europe.  She  was  giving  her 
life  to  save  her  country;  they,  with  enough  of 
their  own,  were  trying  to  wrest  it  from  her.  In 
this  situation   Mrs.  Conger,  the  wife  of  as  noble 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST    23 

a  Christian  minister  as  ever  represented  a  Chris- 
tian government  at  a  non-Christian  court,  in  the 
face  of  a  carping-,  critical  world,  held  out  her 
Christian  love  and  sympathy  to  the  woman  who, 
the  world  thought,  had  tried  to  take  her  life.  It 
is  the  one  bright  Christian  oasis  in  the  diplo- 
matic relations  of  those  dark  years;  and  I  am  of 
the  opinion  that  it  was  the  inspiration  that  came 
from  the  sympathy  and  suggestions  of  Mrs. 
Conger  and  her  associates  that  had  much  to  do 
with  the  attitude  of  the  last  years  of  the  Empress 
Dowager's  life  towai'd  the  gieat  and  burning 
problems  of  her  country  and  her  people. 

All  her  life  the  Empress  Dowager  had  been  in  Empress 
favor  of  progress.  She  had  kept  the  greatest  of  Dowager 
the  progressive  officials  about  her,  both  Chinese  »  Progressive, 
and  Manchus.  Li  Hung  Chang  and  Wang  Wen- 
shao.  Prince  Ching  and  Jung  Lu  were  always  at 
her  service.  She  now^  began  on  the  largest 
moral,  social  and  political  reforms  that  have  ever 
been  undertaken  in  the  empire.  She  conceived 
the  gigantic  undertaking  of  destroying  the  opium 
traffic,  regardless  of  revenue,  and  thus  blotting  out 
the  worst  curse  that  was  ruining  her  people.  The 
extent  of  this  undertaking  can  only  be  compared 
with  an  effort  to  destroy  the  liquor  traffic  in  the 
United  States;  and  we  have  often  thought  that 
only  a  woman,  who  knows  not  the  hold  that 
habits  have  upon  the  appetites  of  men,  would 
have  committed  herself  to  such  a  task. 

It   is  not  necessary  to  review   the   development 


24  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

Opium  of  the  opium  traffic,  nor  to  refer  particularly  to 

Reform.  Britain's  part  therein.      Suffice   it  to   say   that   it 

had  secured  a  stronger  hold  upon  the  Chinese 
than  alcohol  upon  the  American  people.  Thou- 
sands of  acres  of  land  all  over  the  empire  that 
should  have  been  used  for  growing  wheat  and 
corn,  were  used  for  growing  the  poppy,  and  time 
was  spent  upon  its  cultivation  that  would  have 
been  better  spent  upon  the  production  of  food 
stuffs. 
Decrease  In  1906  she  issucd  an  edict  that  the  poppy  cul- 

Ten  Per  Cent  tivation  should  be  decreased  one  tenth  each  year 
Annually.  £qj.  jj^g  next  ten  years;  there  being  an  agreement 
with  Great  Britain  that,  if  China  should  do  so, 
she  would  decrease  her  importations  ten  per  cent 
annually  until  the  traffic  was  done  away  with. 
A  register  was  ordered  to  be  made  of  all  con- 
sumers of  the  drug, — estimated  at  forty  per  cent 
of  the  whole  population, — and  of  the  quantity 
consumed.  Those  v/ho  were  under  sixty  years 
of  age  were  ordered  to  diminish  their  consump- 
tion by  not  less  than  twenty  per  cent  each  year, 
until  they  were  free  from  its  use.  The  govern- 
ment offered  to  provide  medicine  free  of  cost  to 
assist  the  patient  in  breaking  himself  of  the 
habit.  To  those  over  sixty  years  of  age,  together 
with  the  princes  and  nobles  and  other  magnates 
of  the  empire,  a  certain  relaxation  of  these  rules 
was  allowed.  All  minor  officials  under  sixty 
years  of  age  were  ordered  to  drop  it  entirely,  and 
there  would  be  no  toleration  of  those  who  became 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST    25 

addicted  to  the  drug  after  the  date  of  that  edict. 
The  cultivation  of  the  poppy  would  be  gradually 
forbidden. 

In    the    Province   of    Szechuan    certain    of    the   Farmers   Try 
farmers  seeing  that   most   of   the  others   had  quit  to  Avoid 
planting  the  poppy,  and   thinking   that   the  drug   ^*"^- 
would   be  in  demand,  planted   large   fields  which 
the  viceroy  promptly  sent   his  lackeys   to  dig  up. 
The  next  year  they  planted  their  fields  again,  and 
again   the   viceroy   destroyed   them.      Once  more 
they   planted    their    fields.      The   viceroy  said   to 
his   officials,   "This    is  not   simply   disobedience, 
this  is  rebellion,"  and,  sending  forth    his  execu- 
tioners, he  dug  their  graves  in  their  poppy  fields, 
on   the  edge  of   which    he   had   them   kneel,  and 
with  his  axe  he  smote  off  their  heads,  and  tumbled 
their  bodies  into  their  graves. 

Bishop  Bashford,  who  for  the  past  several  Decrease  in 
years  has  been  traveling  over  the  provinces,  ^"PP^  ^""i- 
writes:  "Where  a  few  years  ago  I  saw  great 
fields  of  poppies,  now  I  see  only  fields  of  waving 
grain."  The  Province  of  Szechuan  is  by  far  the 
largest  poppy  producing  area  in  the  empire;  and 
it  is  in  this  province  where  the  most  drastic 
punishment  is  meted  out.  If  they  can  control  it 
in  this  section,  they  can  prohibit  it  throughout 
the  rest  of  the  empire. 

In   1906    the    Empress    Dowager   appointed   a   Commission 
commission  headed  by  Tai  Hung-Tzu  and   Tuan   on  Conatitu- 
Fang,  to  which    she   attached   her  own  nephew,    *''"** 
the    Duke    Tse,  and    ordered    them    to  visit  the 


26 


CHINAS  NEW  DAT 


Female  Edu- 
cation. 


Decree  on 
Constitution. 


great  governments  of  Europe  and  America  for 
the  purpose  of  making  a  study  of  the  political 
institutions,  with  a  purpose  on  their  return  to 
offer  valuable  suggestions  concerning  the  im- 
provement of  their  own.  The  object  of  the 
Empress  Dowager  was  to  discover  what  'kind  of 
a  constitution  would  be  best  to  give  to  her  people. 
These  commissioners  did  not,  however,  confine 
themselves  to  the  study  of  political  conditions. 
All  national  reform  necessarily  involves  educa- 
tional and  social  reforms  as  well;  and  so  they 
were  ordered  to  devote  special  attention  to  the 
study  of  education,  as  found  in  the  schools,  col- 
leges and  universities,  and  to  the  methods  of 
social  amelioration  in  prisons  and  asylums  for 
the  insane  and  the  poor.  And  they  said:  "It  is 
a  matter  of  peculiar  interest  that  the  Empress 
Dowager  charged  us  to  inquire  especially  into 
the  education  of  girls  in  the  United  States,  since 
she  hopes  on  our  return  to  be  able  to  found  a 
school  for  the  education  of  the  daughters  of  the 
princes."  When  this  commission  returned  to 
Peking,  its  report  was  published  in  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  volumes. 

The  following  decree  will  indicate  the  will  of 
the  Empress  Dowager  in  the  matter  of  giving  a 
constitution  to  the  people: — 


We  have  reverently  received  the  excellent  decree  of 
the  great  Empress  Dowager  strictly  ordering  the  offi- 
cials and  people  of  Peking  and  of  the  provinces  to  carry 
out  completely    by    1917,  all    the  preparatory   work,  so 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST     27 

that  at  the  appointed  time  the  constitution  may  be 
proclaimed.  .  .  .  Members  of  parliament  must  assem- 
ble. .  .  .  From  ourselves  down  to  the  officials  and 
people  high  and  low  all  must  sincerely  obey  the  excel- 
lent decree.  .  .  .  Let  there  be  no  "reabsorption  of 
sweat"  in  this  matter.  Our  hope  is  that  this  will  cer- 
tainly be  carried  out.  Let  the  officials  and  the  prov- 
inces look  not  idly  on  and  procrastinate,  delaying  the 
opportune  time.  Let  patriotism  be  shown  forth.  Exert 
yourselves  that  constitutional  government  may  be 
established.  And  court  and  "wild"  people  may  have 
peace. 

In  October  and  November,  1909,  elections  were  Provincial 
held  and  the  first  provincial  assemblies  met,  and  Assembhes. 
we  are  told  that:  "To-day  marks  an  era  in  the 
establishment  of  constitutional  government  in 
China.  In  obedience  to  the  Imperial  decrees  of 
October  19,  1907,  and  of  July  27,  1908,  in  each 
of  twenty-two  provinces  of  China  proper  and 
Manchuria  and  the  new  dominion  of  provincial 
deliberative  assemblies,  elections  have  been  in 
progress  for  some  time  past,  and  the  assemblies 
meet  in  accordance  with  the  regulations  for  the 
first  time  to-day,  October  14th." 

Halls  were  erected  for  the  assemblies  to  meet 
wherever  a  viceroy  or  a  governor  had  his  seat. 
The  number  of  members  varied  from  140  in 
Chihli  and  114  in  Chekiang  to  30  in  each  of  the 
three  Manchurian  provinces. 

After  the   forty  days'  session  of  the  assemblies   Results  of 
had  ended,  we  are  told  that:   "A  study  of  the  re-   Assemblies, 
ports  of  the  proceedings  of  the  first  session  of  the 
Provincial    Assemblies   supports    the    contention 


28  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

that  the  Throne  has  been  justified  in  granting  the 
subjects  of  the  empire  a  limited  right  of  speech 
through  their  chosen  representatives.  The  pro- 
grams of  debate  have  been  strictly  in  accordance 
with  the  Imperial  edict,  and  the  proceedings 
have  been  marked  with  dignity  and  decorum. 
The  net  result  justifies  the  remark  made  by  a 
high  authority,  who  has  been  given  a  special 
opportunity  of  forming  a  judgment,  that  the 
members  have  fulfilled  their  appointed  task  of 
working  in  harmony  with  the  executive  author- 
ities in  the  interests  of  their  respective  provinces. ' ' 
Another  writes  on  the  sixth  of  November,  1908, 
in  a  different  strain.      He  says: — 

Signs  of  Already,  in  the  opening  debates  of   these  Provincial 

Storm.  Assemblies,  one  apprehends  the  coming  chaos,  the  first 

whispering  of  the  approaching  storm.  Peking,  pan- 
oplied in  ignorance  and  petrified  in  mediaeval  state- 
craft, trifles  with  Demos  at  its  doors,  evidently  hoping 
that  the  Assemblies  will  consume  their  own  smoke,  and 
that  the  Mandarin  may  be  preserved  by  the  time-hon- 
ored device  of  holding  the  balance  between  contending 
classes.  But  the  spirits  which  the  Vermilion  Pencil  has 
called  from  the  celestial  deep,  though  elected  with  all 
possible  precautions  of  "silk-coated"  franchise,  and 
under  the  close  direction  of  viceroys  and  governors, 
show  signs  of  scant  respect  for  the  Central  Government 
and  little  sympathy  for  its  difficulties.  Already,  within 
a  fortnight  of  their  birth,  many  of  the  Assemblies  have 
passed  resolutions  denouncing  several  of  the  govern- 
ment's pet  proposals, — e.  g:,  the  opium  monopoly,  the 
stamp  tax,  and  the  foreign  loan  for  the  Hankow- 
Canton,  and  the  Hankow-Szechuan  railways.  Concern- 
ing the  vexed   question  of   the  railway  loan,  the  Hupei 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST    29 

Assembly  is  reported  to  have  endorsed,  without  a  dis- 
sentient, their  chairman's  declaration  that  the  govern- 
ment's scheme  should  be  resisted  "to  the  death," 

While  I  am  not  inclined  to  sympathize  with 
most  of  the  quotation  I  have  just  given,  and 
especially  vv^ith  the  style  of  his  expression,  in  the 
light  of  the  present  rebellion,  the  last  two  sen- 
tences seem  almost  like  a  prophecy.  The  present 
rebellion  began  in  Szechuan  in  an  uprising  of 
the  people  against  taxation  and  the  foreign  loan 
for  the  Hankow-Szechuan  railway,  and  the  Re- 
publican form  af  government  was  a  later  addition 
by  the  young  reformers  of  the  south. 

Turn  to  the  edict  issued  by  the  baby  Emperor 
Hsuan  Tung,  October  30,  1911,  and  see  how 
nearly  his  confessions  conform  to  the  predictions 
in  the  above  report.      He  says: — 

It   is  now  three  years  since  we  ascended  the    throne,    c ,.  , 

-'  '    bdict  and 

and  our  object   has  always  been  to  promote  the  happi-    p  ,, 

ness  of  our  subjects.  But  in  the  executive  departments 
we  have  employed  princes  of  the  Imperial  Blood  which 
is  contrary  to  constitutional  government,*  and  in  rail- 
way matters  we  have  followed  policies  which  are  not  in 
conformity  with  public  opinion.  .  .  .  The  wealth  of 
the  people  has  been  exacted  to  a  great  extent,  while  not 
a  single  measure  of  benefit  has  been  given  to  them  in 
return  .  .  .  consequently  there  was  the  uprising  in 
Szechuan  closely  followed  by  the  outbreak  in  Hupeh. 
.  .  .  As  to  the  wiping  out  of  the  distinction  between 
the  Chinese  and  the  Manchus,  several  edicts  have 
already  been  issued  in  the  preceding  reign,  and  they 
will  soon  be  put  into  actual  practice. 

Such   I  think  may  be  considered   the  three  im- 


rising. 


30 


CHINAS  NE  W  DAI 


Causes  of 

Present 

Uprising. 


mediate  causes  of  the  present  uprising.  Fii-st^ 
the  levying  of  taxes  upon  the  people  for  the  pur- 
pose of  building  railways  or  paying  salaried  offi- 
cials, and  then  of  effecting  an  enormous  loan 
from  the  governments  of  Europe  and  America. 
Second^  of  employing  so  many  Princes'  of  the 
Blood  in  the  most  lucrative  governmental  posi- 
tions— a  species  of  nepotism,  instituted  perhaps 
largely  by  the  late  Empress  Dowager ;  and  Third, 
making  vninecessary  distinctions  between  Chinese 
andManchus,  though  severalyearsago  an  edict  was 
issued  allowing  them  to  marry,  and  one  at  least 
of  Prince  Ching's  sons  has  married  a  Chinese 
lady. 

Another   important   section  of  the  edict  given 
above  is  as  follows: — 


Political  Of- 
fenders Par- 
doned. 


From  the  earliest  ages  a  ban  on  political  offenders 
has  been  regarded  as  to  be  avoided,  because  it  kills 
talent  and  smothers  the  manly  spirit.  Political  theories 
change  with  the  times,  and  what  was  regarded  as  offen- 
sive in  former  times  may  be  accepted  views  to-day. 
Although  while  abroad  such  political  offenders  may 
have  incurred  blame  by  sensational  statements,  yet  they 
have  transgressed  the  bounds  because  they  are  enthu- 
siastic over  political  reforms.  Their  feelings  are  par- 
donable. A  general  amnesty  is  now  clearly  promulgated 
and  there  is  to  be  a  new  beginning  of  things.  All 
political  offenders  since  1898,  all  men  who  on  account 
of  political  opinions  have  gone  into  exile,  for  fear  of 
punishment,  and  all  those  participating  against  their 
will  in  the  recent  disturbances  renew  their  allegiance  to 
the  government,  will  have  their  past  forgiven  and  will 
be  considered  as  loving  subjects. 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST    31 

This  is  intended  to  include  such  men  as  Gen- 
eral Li,  Kang  Yu-wei,  and  all  those  who  fled  at 
the  time  of  the  dethronement  of  Kuang  Hsii  in 
1898. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  changes  that  is  Change  in 
comingf  over  China  is  the  change  in  her  Ian-  Language- 
guage,  not  simply  by  the  additions  of  new  scien- 
tific and  other  terms,  but  in  all  phases  of  her 
thought  and  expression.  It  began  after  the  Boxer 
rebellion  in  1900  when  the  foreign  soldiers,  who 
were  not  able  to  talk  Chinese,  undertook  to  make 
purchases  from  the  Chinese.  When  they  offered 
less  than  the  article  was  worth  the  dealer  would 
wave  his  hand  and  say  pu  go  pen^  "not  up  to  the 
average,  "  meaning  that  what  they  offered  was  not 
equal  to  what  the  thing  cost.  This  happened  so 
often  that  pii  go  pe7t  was  relegated  to  the  realm 
of  slang. 

In  this  same   line   Dr.  A.  J.    Brown  reports  a  Illustrative 
young  missionary  as  saying: —  Examples. 

There  are  six  of  us  studying  Chinese  together.  Our 
teachers  tell  us  that  we  must  pay  more  attention  to 
the  new  words  now  coming  into  use.  I  do  not  mean 
the  host  of  scientific  terms  being  turned  into  Chinese, 
but  the  miscellaneous  phrases  coined  chiefly  since  1900 
to  meet  the  needs  of  the  new  style  of  thought.  These 
expressions  have  gained  currency  mainly  through  the 
newspapers,  and  so  we  go  to  the  newspapers  to  find 
them,  rather  than  to  the  sinologues  whose  vocabularies 
were  acquired  in  anti-Boxer  days.  There  is  one  new 
word  that  everybody  glibly  recites  to  the  inquiring  new- 
comer; it  is  the  word  for  ideal,  meaning  literally,  "the 


Postal  Ser- 
vice. 


32  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

thing  you  have  your  eye  on."  A  fit  companion  to  this 
is  a  new  way  of  speaking  of  a  man's  purpose  in  life; 
"his  magnetic  needle  points  in  such  and  such  a 
direction."  A  group  of  new  expressions  have  the  fol- 
lowing meanings:  society,  reform^  ike  public  good,  con- 
stitutional government,  protectioti  of  life,  taking  the 
initiative,  removifig  obstructions,  to  volunteer  one^s  service. 
These  indicate  the  direction  in  which  the  winds  of 
thought  are  blowing  in  China.  Freedom  of  religion  is 
another  new  phrase  in  Chinese;  so  is  a  term  meaning 
to  educate,  as  distinguished  from  to  instruct.  The  use 
of  the  latter  was  illustrated  by  a  Chinese  when  he  de- 
clared that  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  school  in  Tientsin  was 
better -than  the  native  schools,  because  it  educated  its 
pupils,  developing  them  both  in  inorals  and  in  knowl- 
edge, whereas  the  Chinese  schools  just  handed  out 
chunks  of  knowledge  for  them  to  swallow  as  they 
chose. 

The  expansion  of  the  Imperial  Chinese  postal 
system  in  recent  years  has  been  enormous.  The 
postal  routes  cover  88,000  miles,  of  which  68,000 
miles  are  courier  lines.  The  number  of  post 
offices  open  in  1901  was  176.  In  1907  this 
number  had  increased  to  2,803,  while  in  1908, 
it  had  grown  to  3,493.  The  number  of  postal 
articles  handled  in  1901  was  in  the  neighborhood 
of  10,000,000;  in  1907  there  were  168,000,000, 
and  in  1908  no  less  than  252,000,000.  Again  in 
1901  the  number  of  parcels  handled  was  127,000 
which  together  weighed  250  tons,  while  in  1907, 
there  were  1,920,000  parcels  which  weighed 
5,509  tons,  '  and  still  later  in  1908  there  were 
2,445,000  parcels  which  weighed  27,155  tons; 
an  indication  of  the  tremendous  progress  that   is 


Prince  Chun  with  Young  Emperor  and  Younger 
Brother 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST    3:} 

being  made  in   this  one   enterprise   that   was    in- 
stituted and  developed  by  vSir  Robert  Hart. 

The  expansion    in  other  lines  is  quite  equal   to   Railway 
that  of  the  postal  system.      In  1876  China  had  14   Service, 
miles  of  railway.      In  1881  there  were  144  miles; 
in   1889,    566;  now   there   are   more   than   6,800 
miles,  while  additional    lines  are   being  surveyed 
and  provided  for. 

^  score  of  years  ago  the  telegraph  service  con-   Telegrapk 
nected   only  a   few  cities  near   the  coast,  and    the   an^  Tele- 
telephone  was  unknown.      Now  more  than  40,000   ^ 
miles   of  wire   reach    all   the   leading   centers   of 
population,    and    hundreds    of    yamens,    business 
houses,    homes    and   palaces    are    equipped    with 
telephones. 

Great   cities  all   along  the  coast  are  lit  up  with   Clean  Cities, 
electric   lights,  where   formerly   little   tin   lamps, 
the  size    of   those    of   our  coal    miners,  in    paper 
covers  on  four  posts,  were   lit   only  on  moonlight 
nights. 

ILLUSTRATIVE   QUOTATIONS 

"Many  officials  understand  Protestant  missionaries 
far  better  than  they  did  a  dozen  years  ago.  Instances  of 
personal  friendship  are  much  more  numerous.  Pre- 
fects, Taotais,  Governors  and  Viceroys  have  visited 
mission  schools  and  hospitals  and  manifested  keen 
interest.  In  the  fall  of  1907,  twenty-five  missionaries 
representing  various  Boards  were  in  conference  at 
Tsinan-fu,  the  capital  of  the  Province  of  Shantung,  and 
inquired  whether  the  Governor  would  receive  a  com- 
mittee of  three  to  pay  respects  in  behalf  of  the  confer- 
ence. He  replied  that  he  would  be  glad  to  have  the 
missionaries    call    in  a  body.     When   they   did    so,  they 


34  CHINA'S   NEW  DAT 

were  received  with  every  mark  of  cordiality.  The 
Governor  returned  the  call  the  following  day,  accom- 
panied by  a  number  of  high  officials  and  a  military 
escort,  and  he  invited  all  the  missionaries  to  a  feast  at 
his  yamen  the  same  evening.  There  he  again  received 
the  missionaries  with  every  honor.  The  fefist  was 
served  in  foreign  style  and  would  have  done  credit  to 
any  hotel  in  the  homeland.  The  Governor  made  an 
address,  in  which  he  spoke  in  high  terms  of  the  work  of 
the  missionaries  and  the  help  which  they  were  giving 
in  many  ways  to  his  people.  This  was  the  official  who, 
while  holding  a  high  position  in  the  Province  of  Shan-si 
during  the  Boxer  Uprising,  was  commanded  by  his 
Governor,  Yu  Hien,  notorious  for  the  murder  of 
seventy  missionaries,  to  kill  all  the  missionaries  resid- 
ing in  his  district.  He  promptly  assembled  forty  mis- 
sionaries, but  sent  them  under  military  escort  to  a  place 
of  safety,  saying  that  he  could  not  kill  good  and  law- 
abiding  men  and  women."     (Arthur  J.  Brown.) 

Dr.  Martin,  in  a  chapter  of  his  "Awakening  of 
China,"  p.  179,  has  a  significant  postscript: — 

"It  is  the  fashion  to  speak  slightingly  of  the  Boxer 
trouble,  and  to  blink  the  fact  that  the  inovement. which 
led  to  the  capture  of  Peking  and  the  flight  of  the  court 
was  a  serious  war.  The  southern  viceroys  had  under- 
taken to  maintain  order  in  the  south.  Operations  were 
therefore  somewhat  localized.  .  .  .  Whether  this  was 
the  effect  of  diplomatic  dust  thrown  in  their  eyes  or 
not,  it  to  as  fiction.  How  bitterly  the  Empress  Dowager 
was  bent  on  exterminating  the  foreigner,  may  be 
inferred  from  her  decree  ordering  the  massacre  of  for- 
eigners and  their  adherents — a  savage  edict  which  the 
southern  satraps  refused  to  obey.  A  similar  inference 
may  be  drawn  from  the  summary  execution  of  four 
ministers  of  state  for  remonstrating  agaittst  throvjing  in 
the  fortunes  of  the  einpire  -with  the  Boxer  partv-''^ 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST    35 

"In  1894  occurred  the  Chinese-Japanese  War,  the 
immediate  cause  being  the  anger  of  Japan  over  China's 
interference  with  her  plans  in  Korea.  Japan  expelled 
the  Chinese  from  the  Korean  peninsula,  and  also  took 
possession  of  districts  in  Mancliuria.  China's  defeat 
might  have  been  more  humiliating  even  than  it  was,  for 
Peking  was  threatened,  but  the  bullet  lodged  in  the  head 
of  Li  Hung  Chang,  China's  great  statesman,  who  had 
been  dispatched  to  Japan  to  sue  for  peace,  caused  his 
appeal  to  be  granted  with  more  easy  conditions  than 
would  otherwise  have  been  possible,  for  the  Mikado 
was  justly  ashamed  of  the  cowardly  act.  China's  wiser 
and  more  open-minded  body  of  statesmen,  seeing  how 
the  adoption  of  Western  methods  had  given  overwhelm- 
ing strength  to  their  small  and  despised  island  neighbor, 
set  themselves  to  work  to  reform  their  ancient  empire, 
encouraging  Kuang  Hsii  in  his  studies  and  researches 
in  Western  books ;  and  in  rapid  succession  were  issued 
edicts  dealing  with  every  department  of  state — too 
radical  for  the  conservatives — too  radical  perhaps  for 
this  'ancestor  of  nations'  to  whom  ages  past  and  gone 
and  'dead  men  are  more  of  a  live  issue'  than  to  any 
other  nation.  Even  when  Kuang  Hsii  reached  a  suitable 
age  to  have  the  reins  of  government  given  into  his 
hands,  and  the  regency  was  (nominally)  given  up  by 
the  Empress  Dowager,  she  still  kept  her  hand  firmly 
upon  the  affairs  of  state.  And  in  the  light  of  past  history 
the  coup  d'etat  of  1898  is  not  surprising  when  the 
sceptre  was  taken  in  real  earnest  by  this  able  and  ruth- 
less woman,  Kuang  Hsii  in  surrendering  begging  to  be 
'taught  how  to  rule.' 

"The  reactionary  party  in  power's  dislike  for  foreign 
methods,  and  hatred  of  foreigners  was  fostered  by  for- 
eign aggression. 

"In  1897  Germany  seized  Kiao  Chow  in  the  Province 
of  Shantung,  calling  it  a  'lease'  for  ninety-nine  years, 
Russia  followed  by  taking  a    'lease'    of  Port  Arthur  the 


36  CHINAS  NEW  DA  2' 

next  spring.  England  and  France  next  came  in  for 
their  share,  the  one  'leasing'  Wei  Ilai  Wei,  the  other 
Kuang  Chou  Wan. 

"The  Chinese  were  in  no  way  deceived  by  these 
'leases,'  thej  knew  it  meant  permanent  occupation, — 
truly  the  'slicing  of  the  melon'  was  going  on  apace  I 
"These  with  various  other  demands  led  to  the  encour- 
agement of  the  Boxers  to  wage  war  upon  everything  and 
everyone  'foreign' — railways,  telegraphs,  schools, 
hospitals,  merchandise,  Christians,  and  led  to  the  terri- 
ble revenge  of  1900."     (A  Missionary.) 

"The  moral  character  of  the  Chinese  is  a  book 
written  in  strange  letters,  which  are  more  complex  and 
difficult  for  one  of  another  race,  religion  and  language 
to  decipher  than  their  own  singularly  compounded 
word-symbols.  In  the  same  individuals,  virtues  and 
vices,  apparently  incompatible,  are  placed  side  by  side. 
Meekness,  gentleness,  docility,  industry,  contentment, 
cheerfulness,  obedience  to  superiors,  dutifulness  to 
parents,  and  reverence  for  the  aged,  are  in  one  and  the 
same  person,  the  companions  of  insincerity,  lying,  flat- 
tery, treachery,  cruelty,  jealousy,  ingratitude,  avarice 
and  distrust  of  others."      (Archdeacon  Gray.) 

"It  is  an  abuse  of  terms,  to  say  that  they  are  a  highly 
moral  people.  A  morality  that  forgets  one  half  of  the 
decalogue  must  be  wonderfully  deficient,  however  com- 
plete it  may  be  in  the  other."     (Lay.) 

"Such  Europeans  as  settle  in  China,  and  are  eye 
witnesses  of  what  passes,  are  not  surprised  to  hear  that 
mothers  kill  or  expose  several  of  their  children  j  nor 
that  parents  sell  their  daughters  for  a  trifle,  nor  that 
the  empire  is  full  of  thieves;  and  the  spirit  of  avarice 
universal.  They  are  rather  surprised  that  greater 
crimes  are  not  heard  of  during  seasons  of  scarcity.  If 
we  deduct  the  desires  so  natural  to  the  unhappy,  the  in- 
nocence of  their  habits  would  correspond  well  enough 
with  their  poverty  and  hard  labour."      (Premare.) 


THE  BREAK  IVITII  THE  PAST    37 

"Absence  of  truth,  and  uprightness  and  honour, — 
this  is  a  most  appalling  void,  and,  unfortunately,  it 
meets  one  in  all  classes  and  professions  of  the  people. 
I  do  not  refer  to  money  matters,  for,  as  a  rule,  they 
stand  well  in  this  respect."      (Dr.  Williamson.) 

"Black  is  the  mourning  with  us;  white,  grey  and 
blue,  with  the  Chinese,  and  the  shoes,  as  well  as  cap, 
hair  and  clothes,  all  show  it.  Red  is  the  sign  of  rejoic- 
ing, and  is  consequently  used  at  marriages."  (Dyer 
Ball.) 

"When  children  die  they  are  not  always  coffined,  but 
the  bodies  are  often  put  into  a  box.  Amongst  the  Can- 
tonese this  may,  perhaps,  be  done  in  eight  cases  out  of 
ten,  and  the  corpses  of  infants  which  are  seen  floating 
in  rivers  and  pools  and  lying  by  the  wayside  or  on  the 
hill  slopes  are  many  of  them  those  which  are  thus  in- 
decently cast  aside  without  heathen  burial,  though 
some  of  them  are  the  bodies  which  have  been  exposed 
or  killed  outright  by  their  inhuman  parents."  (Dyer 
Ball,  "Things  Chinese.") 

"Common  report  in  China,  as  elsewhere,  is  usually 
based  on  some  foundation  of  truth,  and  in  Peking, 
where  the  mass  of  the  population  has  always  been  con- 
spicuously loyal  to  Tzu  Hsi,  there  have  never  been  two 
opinions  as  to  the  extravagance  and  general  profligacy 
of  her  Court,  and  of  the  evils  of  the  eunuch  regime. 
Nor  is  there  room  for  doubt  as  to  the  deplorable  effect 
exercised  by  these  vicious  underlings  on  weak  and  un- 
disciplined Emperors,  rulers  of  decadent  instincts,  often 
encouraged  in  vicious  practices  to  their  speedy  undo- 
ing." (Bland  and  Backhouse,  "China  Under  the  Em- 
press   Dowager.") 

"If  any  'Old  China  hand'  had  been  told  beforehand 
that  the  Emperor  and  the  Empress  Dowager  would  die 
within  twenty-four  hours  of  each  other,  yet  that  the 
succession  would  be  quietly  arranged  with  no  suggestion 


304G06 


38  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

of  outward  discontent,  he  would  have  smiled  a  knowing 
smile  and  would  have  outlined  a  much  more  probable 
line  of  events,  but  he  would  have  been  quite  astray.  It 
is  no  novelty  in  China  to  have  long  minorities  in  the 
palace,  and  the  past  hundred  years  has  had  fully  its 
share.  Yet  in  this  instance  the  selection  both  of  a  new 
Emperor  and  a  Regent  seemed  so  clearly  the  best  pos- 
sible that  after  it  became  obvious  that  there  was  to  be 
no  uprising  or  popular  clamor,  we  seemed  indeed  to  be 
entering  upon  a  lagoon  of  peace,  such  as  China  had 
not  known  for  more  than  a  century.  A  year  and  a  half 
of  the  rule  of  the  Prince  Regent,  however,  made  it 
obvious  that  far  too  much  had  been  expected  from  his 
good  intentions,  and  that  his  qualifications  for  the  diffi- 
cult task  laid  upon  him  were  extremely  inadequate. 
The  sudden  and  curt  dismissal  of  Yuan  Shi  ki  opened 
a  new  window  into  the  central  machinery  of  the  Chinese 
government  and  made  it  plain  that  personal  considera- 
tions overtop  the  interests  of  the  state,  as  has  so  often 
although,  by  no  means  uniformly  been  the  case  through 
the  long  course  of  Chinese  history. 

"The  opening  decade  of  the  twentieth  century  has 
been  marked  in  China  by  one  of  the  most  singular, 
phenomena  in  history — the  relatively  rapid  rise  to  self- 
consciousness  and  to  world-consciousness  of  the 
Chinese  people  as  a  whole.  It  has  long  been  recog- 
nized that  the  Chinese  have  always  been  in  many 
of  their  social  habits  essentially  democratic;  the 
theoretically  absolute  rule  resting  (theoretically) 
upon  popular  approbation.  But  this  approbation  has 
always  been  comparatively  inarticulate.  What  were 
the  real  motives  that  led  the  late  Grand-Dowager 
Empress  to  give  her  cordial  approval  to  the  introduction 
of  a  'Constitution'  in  China  we  have  no  means  of 
knowing,  but  whatever  they  may  have  been  the  step 
was  one  of  far-reaching  importance,  certainly  for 
China  and  perhaps  for  the  world.     It  is  evident  that  but 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST    39 

a  microscopic  fraction  of  the  people  of  China  have  any 
idea  at  all  what  is  connoted  hy  the  word  'constitution' 
now  so  incessantly  on  the  lips  of  talkers  and  the  pens 
of  writers,  but  they  look  forward  to  its  introduction  as 
the  opening  of  a  golden  era,  instead  of  an  embarkation 
on 'the  storm-tossed  sea  of  liberty.'  By  what  processes 
are  these  innumerable  millions  to  learn  the  meaning  of 
that  mighty  and  mystic  term,  to  distinguish  between 
liberty  and  license  to  be  schooled  in  that  self-restraint 
which  involves  co-operation,  the  subordination  of  the 
present  to  the  future,  and  especially  that  of  the  indi- 
vidual to  the  community? 

"Nothing  has  so  showed  the  temper  of  the  new  China 
as  her  treatment  of  the  opium  reform,  to  which  a  few 
sentences  must  be  devoted.  It  is  important  to  remem- 
ber that  the  avowed  object  is  to  'make  China  strong.' 
Five  years  ago  it  was  something  of  a  risk  to  assume 
(as  some  of  us  did  assume)  that  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment was  in  earnest.  This  is  now  everywhere  admitted 
by  those  who^e  opinion  is  of  any  value.  The  great 
opium  conference  in  Shanghai  in  1909  may  be  said  to 
have  focused  the  sentiment  of  the  world  against  this 
deadly  drug,  and  seems  to  have  been  the  means  of  a 
slow  but  definite  change  of  view  among  the  journals  of 
the  Far  East,  many  of  which  had  maintained  an  attitude 
of  invincible  skepticism  as  to  the  real  intentions  of 
China.  She  has  proyed  ready  to  sacrifice  between  one 
hundred  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  taels  of 
revenue,  which  is  the  highest  proof  of  her  intentions. 
That  the  poppy  plant  is  no  longer  grown  in  several 
of  the  provinces  which  most  largely  produced  it,  seems 
to  be  matter  of  trustworthy  testimony.  That  many 
opium  smokers  have  been  induced  to  leave  off  smoking, 
and  that  some  have  died  in  the  attempt,  is  also  well 
known.  The  drug  has  enormously  increased  in  price, 
and  it  can  no  longer  be  afforded  by  the  poor.  Great 
quantities  of  morphia  have  found  their  way  into  China, 


40  CHINA  S  NE  W  DA  T 

a  substitute  much  worse  tlian  the  original.  Against 
this  it  is  difficult  effectively  to  guard.  None  of  these 
facts,  nor  all  of  them  combined,  prove  that  China  has 
given  up  opium,  or  that  she  will  do  so.  That  is  a 
matter  which  of  necessity  must  require  at  least  another 
decade  or  two  after  all  growth  or  visible  importation 
ceases.  China  is  full  of  buried  opium  totally 'beyond 
the  reach  of  assessors  or  inquisitors,  sufficient  to  fur- 
nish a  moderate  supply  for  a  long  time  to  come.  There 
may  for  aught  that  appears  be  a  steady  leakage  from. 
Persia,  etc.,  through  Central  Asia.  And  in  any  case 
the  problem  is  so  vast  that  it  can  no  more  be  under- 
taken offhand  and  achieved  like  the  building  of  the 
Great  Wall  under  the  Ch'in  Emperor  than  can  any 
other  reform  which  is  as  much  a  moral  as  an  economic 
question.  That  China  will  be  successful  in  the  end  we 
have  faith  to  believe,  but  it  is  a  distant  goal  and  will 
require  strong  and  steady  efforts."  ("China  Mission 
Year  Book.") 

In  "China  Under  the  Empress  Dowager"  one  read 
of  the  following  proclamation  which  was  placarded  all 
over  the  city,  in  accordance  with  the  Empress  Dowager's 
orders    issued    to    Prince  Chuang. 

REWARDS 

"Now  that  all  foreign  churches  and  chapels  have 
been  razed  to  the  ground,  and  that  no  place  of  refuge 
or  concealment  is  left  for  the  foreigners,  they  must  un- 
avoidably scatter,  flying  in  every  direction.  Be  it  there- 
fore known  and  announced  to  all  men,  scholars  and 
volunteers,  that  any  person  found  guilty  of  harbouring 
foreigners  will  incur  the  penalty  of  decapitation.  For 
every  male  foreigner  taken  alive  a  reward  of  60  taels 
will  be  given  ;  for  every  female  40  taels,  and  for  every 
child  30  taels  ;  but  it  is  to  be  clearly  understood  that 
they  shall  be  taken  alive,  and  that  they  shall  be  genuine 
foreigners.  Once  this  fact  has  been  duly  authenticated, 
the  reward  will  be  paid  without  delay.  A  special  proc- 
lamation, requiring   reverent  obedience." 

"I  command  that  all  foreigners — men,  women  and 
children,  old   and  young — be  summarily  executed.     Let 


THE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST    41 

not  one  escape,  so  that  my  Empire  may  be  purged  of 
this  noisome  source  of  corruption,  and  that  peace  may 
be  restored  to  my  loyal  subjects." 

"The  present  movement  is  in  great  contrast  with  the 
Boxer  one  of  1900.  The  latter  stood  in  the  sign  of  a 
crass  and  demonic  heathenism.  The  former,  even  more 
than  the  Tai  Ping  rebellion,  is  touched  with  a  certain 
degree  at  least,  of  Christian  influence.  This  the  press 
in  the  treaty  ports  acknowledges.  In  the  'North  China 
Daily  News'  one  reads : — 

"  'It  has  been  a  surprise  to  every  one  that  this  present 
revolution  has  been  carried  out  so  far  with  such  consid- 
eration for  the  people  at  large.  It  is  true,  the  beginning 
of  the  movement  was  disgraced  by  the  massacre  of 
Manchus  in  Wuchang  and  Hankow,  but  every  care  has 
been  taken  of  citizens'  lives  and  property  as  far  as  it 
was  possible  to  do  so.  The  black  record  of  murder  and 
outrage  must  be  put  down  to  the  account  of  the  Im- 
perialists. There  is  no  doubt  that  the  present  consid- 
eration for  the  people  is,  in  a  large  measure,  due  to 
the  leaven  of  Christianity  which  has  had  its  effect  on 
the  hearts  of  the  Chinese,  and  for  this  the  missionary 
body  must  feel  a  certain  amount  of  gratitude.  It  shows 
that  their  work  has  not  been  in  vain.' 

"This  fact  does  not  appear  incompatible  with  the 
insurgents'  summary  method  of  dealing  with  offenders 
against  public  order.  Yet  in  the  following  revolutionary 
proclamation  a  determination  to  protect  Christians  is 
clearly  apparent:  — 

"  'I  (the  leader  of  the  Revolution)  am  to  dispel  the 
Manchu  government  and  to  revive  the  rights  of  the  Han 
people.  Let  all  keep  order  and  not  disobey  the  military 
discipline.  The  rewards  of  merit  and  the  punishment 
of  crimes  are  as  follows: 

"  'Those  who  conceal  any  government  officials  are  to 
be  beheaded. 


42  CHINA' S  NE  W  DA  T 

"  'Those  who  inflict  injuries  on  foreigners  are  to 
be  beheaded. 

"  'Those  who  deal  with  merchants  unfairly  are  to 
be  beheaded. 

"  'Those  who  interrupt  coinmerce  are  to  be  beheaded. 

"'Those  who  give  way  to  slaughter,  burning  and 
adultery  are  to  be  beheaded. 

"  'Those  who  attempt  to  close  the  markets  are  to  be 
beheaded. 

"  'Those  who  fight  against  the  volunteers  are  to  be 
beheaded. 

"  'Those  who  supply  the  troops  with  foodstuffs  will 
be  rewarded. 

"  'Those  who  supply  ammunition  will  be  beheaded. 

"  'Those  who  afford  protection  to  the  foreign  con- 
cessions will  be  highly  rewarded. 

"  'Those  who  guard  the  churches  will  be  highly 
rewarded. 

"  'Those  who  lead  on  the  people  to  submission  \\\\\ 
be  highly  rewarded. 

"  'The  eighth  moon  of  the  4609th  year  of  the  Hwang 
Dynasty.'  "    ("Northfield  Record  of  Christian  Work.") 

"On  one  occasion,  receiving  certain  foreign  ladies  in 
the  traveling  Palace  erected  for  her  at  Paoting-fu,  that 
the  Old  Buddha  alluded  directly  to  the  massacres  of  for- 
eign missionaries  which  had  taken  place  in  that  city, 
'with  which  she  had,  of  course,  nothing  to  do.'  N.o 
doubt  by  this  time,  and  by  force  of  repetition,  Tzti  Hsi 
had  persuaded  herself  of  her  complete  innocence;  but, 
however,  this  may  be,  she  undoubtedly  won  over  most 
of  the  foreigners  with  whom  she  came  in  contact,  by 
the  charm  and  apparent  sincerity  of  her  manner." 
(Bland  and  Backhouse,  "China  Under  the  Empress 
Dowager.") 

"Equally  valueless,  for  purposes  of  historical  ac- 
curacy, are  most  of  the  accounts  and  impressions  of  the 
Empress   recorded   by   those   Europeans  (especially  the 


TJIE  BREAK  WITH  THE  PAST    43 

ladies  of  the  Diplomatic  Body  and  their  friends)  who 
saw  her  personality  and  purposes  reflected  in  the  false 
light  which  beats  upon  the  Dragon  Throne  on  cere- 
monial occasions,  or  who  came  under  the  influence  of 
the  deliberate  artifices  and  charm  of  manner  which  she 
assumed  so  well.  Had  the  etiquette  of  her  Court  and 
people  permitted  intercourse  with  European  diplomats 
and  distinguished  visitors  of  the  male  sex,  she  would 
certainly  have  acquired,  and  exercised  over  them  also, 
that  direct  personal  influence  which  emanated  from  her 
extraordinary  vitality  and  will  power,  influence  such  as 
the  Western  world  has  learned  to  associate  with  the 
names  of  the  EmperOr  William  of  Germany  and  Mr. 
Roosevelt.  Restricted  as  she  was  to  social  relations 
with  her  own  sex  amongst  foreigners,  she  exerted  her- 
self, and  never  failed,  to  produce  on  them  an  impression 
of  womanly  grace  and  gentleness  of  disposition,  which 
qualities  we  find  accordingly  praised  by  nearly  all  who 
came  in  contact  with  her  after  the  return  of  the  Court, 
aye,  even  by  those  who  had  undergone  the  horrors  of 
the  siege  under  the  very  walls  of  her  Palace.  The 
glamour  of  her  mysterious  Court,  the  rarity  of  the 
visions  vouchsafed,  the  real  charm  of  her  manner,  and 
the  apparently  artless  bonhomie  of  her  bearing,  all 
combined  to  create  in  the  minds  of  the  European  ladies 
who  saw  her  an  impression  as  favourable  as  it  was  op- 
posed to  every  dictate  of  common  sense  and  experience." 
(Ibid.) 

"China,  the  largest,  and  hitherto  the  most  unchang- 
ing nation  on  earth,  is  now  in  a  ferment  with  the  leaven 
of  a  new  life.  She  is  now  entering  upon  a  great  crisis 
in  her  history.  Like  the  Jews,  they  have  gone  into  all 
the  earth,  speak  the  languages  of  the  world,  and  yet 
remain  a  separate  people.  The  Chinaman  can  live  in 
any  climate  and  take  care  of  himself.  Everywhere  he 
goes  he  takes  his  religion  with  him.  When  this  mighty 
people  are  won    for   Christ,  what   a  power  they  will    be 


44  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

in  the  world.  China  is  not  a  dying  race,  but  a  strong 
and  vigorous  people,  a  nation  with  a  destiny,  with  a 
constitutional  form  of  government,  and  with  a  parlia- 
ment nearing  materialization. 

"A  question  of  overwhelming  importance  is.  What 
are  Western  nations  going  to  do  with  the  mUlions  of 
the  Chinese.''  Or  perhaps  the  question  may  be  asked. 
What  are  the  Chinese  going  to  do  with  the  people  of 
the  West  in  coming  centuries?  To  evangelize  China 
and  treat  her  justly  was  never  so  urgent  as  now.  It  is 
not  simple  duty,  it  is  true  wisdom,  it  is  wise  warfare. 
There  is  now  an  opportunity  to  show  friendship  for 
this  empire  that  will  make  China  our  friend."  (Sir 
Hunter  Corbett  in  "Students  and  the  Modern  Mis- 
sionary Crusade.") 

QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  I 

1.  What  began  the  awakening  of  China? 

2.  Tell  the  story  of  the  sending  of  the  New  Testament 
to  a  woman  by  the  women.  What  had  it  to  do  with 
China's  awakening? 

3.  Tell  the  story  of  Kuang  Hsii's  development. 

4.  Why  might  a  Christian  people  make  more  progress 
than  a  non-Christian?    What  are  the  causes  of  progress? 

5.  Tell  how  Kuang  Hsii  bought  and  studied  Western 
books,  and  of  the  reforms  he  instituted. 

6.  Tell  something  of  missionary  influence  in  Chinese 
educational  reforms. 

7.  Why  could  Kuang  Hsii  begin  reform  which  he  was 
unable  to  carry  out?     What  defects  had  he  as  a  ruler? 

8.  Tell  what  you  can  of  Yuan  Shi  ki.  Was  he  a 
statesman  or  a  traitor? 

9.  Who  carried  out  Kuang  Hsii's  reforms?  What 
new  reforms  were  instituted?  Tell  something  of  the 
opium  reform  ;  the  giving  of  a  constitution  ;  the  open- 
ing of  national  assemblies. 

10.  Give  the  causes  of  the  uprising  and  demand  for  a 
republic.  Tell  something  of  the  progress  of  China  in 
recent  years. 


CHAPTER    II 


THE    CHINESE    WOMAN 


One  of  the  chief  factors  in  the  renewal  and  Importance  of 
regeneration  of  Chinese  life  is  the  Chinese  Chmeae 
woman.  Long  the  victim  of  repression  and  ig-  o^^°^- 
norance,"she  is  still  splendidly  endowed,  of  un- 
diminished vigor,  and  wields  an  immense  influence 
over  Chinese  society.  It  is  quite  possible  when 
the  defects  of  Chinese  life  so  far  as  they  affect 
women  are  pictured  that  American  women  gain 
a  wrong  impression,  and  have  a  feeling  of 
mingled  pity  and  -contempt  for  those  so  down- 
trodden. Nothing  could  be  more  unfortunate. 
While  the  conditions  surrounding  the  life  of 
Chinese  women  are  far  from  ideal,  and  while  the 
conception  of  womanhood  presented  in  Confucian 
thought  is  doubtless  inadequate,  yet  it  is  probable 
that  no  woman  of  a  non-Christian  land  has  had 
greater  influence  or  dignity  than  the  Chinese 
woman.  Certainly  no  woman  is  to-day  more  im- 
portant to  reach  and  educate. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to  present  the   Purpose  of 
brighter  aspects  of  the  life  of  the  Chinese  woman   Chapter 
and  to    create  a   better   appreciation   of   her    fine 
qualities,  in  order  to  emphasize  the  importance  of 
woman's   education,    training   and   better   equip- 


46 


CHINA' S  NE  W  DA  T 


Necessity  of 

Studying 

Conditions. 


Books  for 
^'omen. 


ment  in  this  hour  of  China's  need.  Only  as  we 
enter  sympathetically  into  her  life  shall  we  be 
able  to  appreciate  the  supreme  worth  of  the  op- 
portunity that  is  before  the  Church  to-day  in  the 
new  accessibility  of  the  Chinese  woman. 

"Not  one  in  ten  thousand  Chinese  women  can 
read,"  said  one  of  China's  great  sinologues, 
some  thirty  years  ago. 

After  I  had  lived  in  China  for  a  few  years  I 
began   to   doubt   the    accuracy  of   this  statement. 

One  with  foreign  prejudices  and  pi'edilections 
may  associate  with  an  alien  people  for  many 
years,  and  not  know  much  about  special  condi- 
tions unless  he  makes  an  effort  to  learn  them. 
To  illustrate:  T  had  lived  in  China  for  six  years 
and  had  never  heard  a  Chinese  Mother  Goose 
rhyme,  but  within  a  year  after  hearing  the  first 
one,  I  had  made  a  collection  of  more  than  six 
hundred  of  these  nursery  ditties. 

I  had  been  in  China  eleven  years  before  I  saw 
a  good  Chinese  painting,  but  after  finding  one, 
and  learning  to  appreciate  it,  I  saw  them  on 
every  hand. 

vSoon  after  learning  to  read  and  speak  the 
Chinese  language,  while  going  about  the  book 
shops  of  Liu  Li  Chang,  the  great  book  and 
curio  street  of  Peking,  I  found  a  little  primer 
called  the  "Nii  Erh  Ching""  or  Classic  for  Girls, 
and  translated  it.  As  itwas  in  rhyme  an  attemptwas 
made  to  put  it  into  meter  similar  to  the  original. 
The  following  is  a  translation  of  the  first  verse: — 


THE   CHINESE    WOMAN  47 

This  instruction  for  my  sisters  Primer  for 

I  have  called  the  Nu  ErJi  Chiiig;  Girls. 

All  its  precepts  you  should  practice, 

All  its  sentences  should  sing. 
You  should  rise  from  bed  as  early 

In'the  morning  as  the  sun, 
Nor  retire  at  evening's  closing 

Till  your  work  is  wholly  done. 

The  primer  contains  fifty-three  stanzas.  To  "Four Books 
my  surprise  I  then  found  "Four  Books  for  for  Girls." 
Girls"  similar  to  the  "Four  Books"  for  boys 
that  the  Chinese  have  been  studying  from  ten  to 
twenty  centuries.  These  "Four  Books  for  Girls" 
opened  up  a  new  view  of  the  Chinese  woman, 
and  a  larger,  broader  hope  for  the  work  that  our 
Christian  women  are  doing  in  the  Orient.  No 
one  so  far  as  I  could  learn  had  known  anything 
about  "Four  Books  for  Girls,"  up  to  that  time, 
though  it  was  printed  in  such  large  editions  that 
it  could  be  purchased  in  two  volumes,  done  up 
in  a  cloth  cover,  for  the  small  sum  of  ten  cents. 

Further  search  revealed  other  books,  such  as  "Studies  for 
"Studies  for  Women,"  by  Lu  Chou,  being  the  Women." 
examples  of  great  women  of  ancient  times, 
"Studies  for  the  Inner  Apartments,"  the  "Filial 
Piety  Classic  for  Girls,  "  which  seemed  to  indicate 
that  the  Chinese  woman  had  not  been  entirely 
neglected,  but  had  received  enough  to  make  her 
long  for  more. 

On   one   occasion   when   a    group    of    Chinese  Testimony  of 
ladies  were  calling  at  our  home  I  asked   them  if  Chinese 
they  had  read   the  "Four  Books   for   Girls,"  the  W«™^'^- 


48  CHINA' S  NE  W  DA  T 

primer  for  girls,  and  the  other  hooks  for  women. 
They  quoted  from  the  books  in  order  to  verify 
their  statements.  I  continued  my  inquiries,  and 
in  every  instance  where  a  company  of  women 
from  the  homes  of  the  middle  and  'better  classes 
came  to  call  we  found  one,  and  sometimes  more, 
who  could  read.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  not 
only  the  first  book  that  was  ever  written  in  any 
language  for  the  instruction  of  girls  was  written 
by  the  Lady  Ts'ao,  a  Chinese  woman  contempora- 
neous with  the  Apostle  Paul,  but  that,  when  the 
new  regime  v^as  inaugurated,  the  first  woman's 
daily  newspaper  that  was  ever  published  any- 
where in  the  world  was  started  and  edited  by 
Mrs.  Chang,  a  Chinese  lady  in  Peking,  with 
Chinese  women — and  enough  of  them — as  her 
constituency  and  her  readers.  It  is,  however,  to 
be  noted  that  the  largest  daily  newspaper  in 
Peking  has  a  circulation  of  only  three  thousand. 
What  Pro-  You     ask     what     proportion     of    the    Chinese 

portion  can  womcn  can  read.  Frankly,  I  do  not  know.  The 
proportion  of  men  who  can  read  is  probably  not 
one  in  ten,  the  proportion  of  women  is  un- 
doubtedly still  smaller.  I  have  found  those  who 
were  admitted  by  my  Chinese  friends  to  be  equal 
in  their  learning  to  a  Hanlin,  or  fourth  degree 
graduate, — an  LL. D.  One  of  these  often  came 
to  visit  the  ladies  of  our  mission  in  1901  after  the 
Boxer  trouble.  I  was  introduced  to  her,  and 
gave  her  every  possible  opportunity  to  exhibit 
her  learning,    by   talking   to   her   about   Chinese 


Read? 


IHE   CHINESE    WOMAN  49 

history,  philosophy   and   literature.      So   long'  as   A  Learned 
we  kept  strictly  to  topics  Chinese  she  experienced   ^ady. 
no  embarrassment, — she  was  full  of  learning.      I 
presented    her   with    a  copy   of   a    translation   of 
Montieth's    Physical    Geography,    and  she    was 
entirely  at  sea.     I  asked  her  what  she  thought  of  it. 

"I  do  not  understand  it,"  she  confessed. 

"What,  you  do  not  understand  it!"  I  exclaimed 
in  surprise.  "How  is  that.-*  Isn't  it  good 
Chinese.^" 

"Oh,  yes,  the  Chinese  is  all  right;  and  I  un- 
derstand the  words,  but  the  thought  is  all  new  to 
me,  and  I  cannot  comprehend  it,"  she  explained. 
Her  mind  was  "packed  full  of  knowledge,"  but 
her  reason  was  undeveloped. 

Two  young  ladies,  the  daughters  of  a  chiiang  intelligent 
yiian,  or  fifth  degree  graduate,  were  calling  on  a  Girls, 
missionary.  We  have  nothing  that  corresponds 
to  that  degree  in  the  West.  Only  one  out  of  four 
hundred  millions  of  the  Chinese  could  graduate  as 
a  chuang yiian  once  in  three  years.  The  con- 
versation turned  on  Chinese  poetry.  In  the 
Chinese  biographical  encyclopedias  several  vol- 
umes were  always  devoted  to  women,  and  so  the 
missionary  said  to  them,  "Do  ladies  write  poetry 
at  the  present  time.^" 

"Oh,    yes,"    they    answered,    "our    aunt    has   Women 
published  a  volume  of  poetry,  we'll  bring  you  a   Poets, 
copy;"   and  the  next  time  they  came  they  brought 
a  volume   in  which    their  aunt    had   written    her 
name, — an  autograph  copy  of  her  poems. 


50  CHINA'S   NEW  DAT 

Are  Women  It  is  often  Said  that  the  Chinese  woman  is  an 
Oppressed?  oppressed  creature, — the  slave  of  her  husband, 
who  "dares  not  say  that  her  soul  is  her  own." 
After  studying  the  Chinese  books  for  women, 
and  translating  some  of  them  into  English,  1 
began  to  doubt  the  credibility  of  a  universal 
statement  of  such  nature,  and  this  particularly 
after  I  had  run  upon  certain  expressions  which 
struck  me  as  peculiar. 
Henpecked  One  day  I  was  dining  with   Dr.  Goodrich,  the 

Husbands.  author  of  the  best  Anglo-Chinese  pocket  dic- 
tionary. He  had  helped  me  in  things  Chinese, 
and  during  the  conversation  I  said  to  him: 
"Have  you  ever  seen  the  expression  Ktiel  che 
ting  tengV 

"What  does  it  mean?"  he  asked. 

"Literally  it  means  to  kneel  and  hold  a  candle 
on  one's  head,"  I  explained. 

"Oh,  yes,  I  know  what  the  words  mean,"  he 
continued,  "but  what  does  it  signify?" 

"Freely  translated,  it  means  'henpecked  hus- 
band.' "   I  added. 

"I  fear  it  isn't  Chinese.  It  has  been  im- 
ported," he  volunteered.  "The  Chinese  do  not 
have  that  genus.  I  have  been  in  China  for  thirty 
years,  and  I  think  I  should  have  discovered  it." 

"Ask  your  table  boy  if  he  ever  heard  the  ex- 
pression." 

"You  ask  him,"  he  replied. 

So  I  turned  to  the  table  boy  and  said:  "AV 
ting  chien  kiiei  che  ting  teng  liao^  mei yu  ?  Have 
you  heard  the  expression  Ktieichctifigtengf" 


THE   CHINESE    WOMAN  51 

"Yes,"    he    replied    with    evident    embarrass- 
ment, "I  have  heard  it." 

"What  does  it  mean?"   I  asked. 

"It  means  'the  hen  that  crows  in  the  morn-  The  Crow- 
ing,'" he  replied,  quoting  an  expression  em-  ing  Hen. 
bodied  in  the  following  verses,  translated  from 
the  "Classic  for  Girls,"  where  a  "wife's  vir- 
tues" are  enumerated,  and  allusion  is  made  to 
certain  customs.  The  sentence  is  even  found  in 
the  Book  of  History,  edited  by  Confucius  no  less 
than  five  hundred  years  before  Christ,  an  indica- 
tion that  the  Chinese  woman  has  held  her  own 
for  many  centuries: — 

Then  a  meek  and  lowly  temper 

Is  restriction  number  seven. 
Your  relation  to  jour  husband 

Is  the  same  as  earth  to  heaven. 
Where  the  hen  announces  morning, 

There  the  home  will  be  destroyed, 
You  from  lack  of  woman's  virtue 

Neighbor's  scorn  cannot  avoid. 

And  again  farther   on,  under   the  "rfeasons  for 
certain  customs,"  we  read: — 

Then  a  woman's  upper  garment 

And  her  skirt  should  teach  again, 
That  though  living  with  her  husband 

She  is  on  a  different  plane. 
She  should  follow  and  be  humble 

That  it  ne'er  be  said  by  men, 
That  the  morning  there  is  published 

By  the  crowing  of  the  hen. 


52  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

"But,"  said  I  to  the  boy,  "you  do  not  have 
that  kind  of  men  in  these  days,  do  you?" 

"O-h,  y-e-s, "  he  drawled. 

"For  instance,"  I  went  on. 

"P'an  Erh  in  your  compound.  They  say  he 
is  a  candlestick  for  his  wife." 

I  recognized  the  man  he  mentioned  as  one 
who  stayed  at  home  and  took  care  of  the  children, 
while  his  wife  went  out  into  service  and  made  a 
living  for  the  family. 

Chinese  stories  would  indicate  that  there  is  no 
lack  of  this  genus  in  China.  I  do  not  mean  to 
imply  that  any  large  proportion  of  the  men  in 
China  are  domineered  over  by  their  wives,  but 
believe  that  the  Chinese  woman  is  as  strong  a 
character  as  her  husband. 
General  Ma.  A  story  is  told  of  the   late  General   Ma.      He 

was  calling  on  one  of  the  older  missionaries  on 
one  occasion.  During  the  conversation  he  said, 
"Dr.  S — ,  I  want  to  ask  you  a  question.  In 
your  honorable  country  is  the  woman  the  head  of 
the  home  or  is  the  man  the  head  of  the  home?" 

"Why  General,  it  is  this  way.  If  the  man  is  a 
stronger  character  than  the  woman  he  is  the  head 
of  the  home,  but  if  the  woman  is  stronger  than 
the  man  she  rules." 

The  General  pushed  back  his  chair  and  said 
with  a  smile,  "In  my  miserable  country  it  is 
exactly  the  same!" 

The  Chinese  speaks  of  his  wife  as  his  tiei  jeit 
— his    "inside   person";    the    implication   being 


THE   CHINESE    WOMAN  53 

that  her  sphere    is    the   home,  while   that    of   the    "  The  Inside 

husband   is  outside  as  a  breadwinner.      She  rules   Person. 

in  her  realm  as  autocratically  as   he  does   in  his. 

As  soon  as   a   man   steps   over   his   threshold,  he 

takes   a   second    place.      She    serves    him    in   the 

house;  he  serves  her  outside.      The   reader  will 

allow   a    good    deal    of   latitude    here,  as    man  is 

more  muscular  than  woman,  and  a  bad  man  is  not 

likely  to  be   a   good    husband    anywhere    in    the 

world.      In  an  inquiry  of  this  kind  we  must  know 

two  things:   First,  what  place  do  the  Chinese  give 

to  woman?     Second,  are   they  able   to    carry    out 

their  theories  of  a  home? 

Home  is  woman's  realm.      In  it  she   is  the  ac-    Home 
credited   ruler.      She  is  supposed  to  prepare  her  Woman  s 
husband's   food,    care   for  his  clothing,  bear   and 
care  for  the  children,  call   a   teacher   for   her  son 
and    place    him    in    school,  teach    her    daughter 
fancy  work  and  cooking,  and, — 

If  from  fancy  work  and  cooking 

You  can  save  some  precious  hours, 
You  should  spend  them  in  embroidering 

Ornamental  leaves  and  flowers. 

But  as  a  matter  of  fact  in  the  country  and 
among  the  poor  farmer  folk  the  wife  is  sometimes 
hitched  up  with  the  husband  and  the  donkey  to 
the  plough,  the  handle  of  which  the  son  holds. 
The  girls  and  the  women  often  go  out  in  the  fields 
in  the  busy  season  of  planting,  hoeing  and  har- 
vesting and  work  beside  the  men,  and  you  will 
rarely  find  a  man  who  cannot  cook. 


Real 


eaim. 


54  CHINA'S   NEW  DAT 

Treatment  of        Another  question   that   often   arises   is,  Does  a 
Women.  Chinese  man  treat  his  wife  well?  I  should  answer 

in  a  general    w'ay,  a  good   man  does,  and    a  cruel 
or   domineering   man   does   not.      But   the   whole 
question  resolves    itself   into   the  relative  strength 
of  character  of  the  man  and  his  wife. 
The  Lady  It  has  already  been  said  that  the  first  book  that 

■^*  *"•  was  ever  written  in  any  language  for  the  instruc- 

tion of  girls,  was  written  by  a  Chinese  woman, 
contemporaneous  with  the  Apostle  Paul;  and 
some  of  her  teachings  were  not  very  different 
from  those  of  the  Apostle.  Among  her  striking 
expressions  we  have:  "First  others,  then  your- 
self." This  book  of  the  good  Lady  Ts'ao  is  the 
first  of  the  "Four  Books  for  Girls."  It  was  from 
such  women  as  these,  such  teachings  as  these, 
that  the  nineteenth  century  developed  the  late 
Dowager  Empress,  of  whom  we  have  spoken  in 
another  chapter.  But  for  this  general  character 
of  women  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  her 
to  have  taken  the  position  she  did. 
Social  The    changes    in    the    social    life    of    Chinese 

Changes.  women  of  rank   have   been  even  greater   than   the 

changes  in  their  educational  life,  described  in 
another  chapter.  Much  of  this  change  must  ever 
be  accredited  to  the  loving  interest  shown  in 
these  ladies  by  Mrs.  Conger,  the  wife  of  our  hon- 
ored American  minister.  Mrs.  Conger  tells  us 
in  her  letters: — 

From    my    entrance    into    China,  on    through    seven 
years,  I   worked   with   a    fixed    purpose    to  gain  clearer 


THE   CHINESE    WOMAN  55 

ideas.  ...  I  sought  the  opportunity  for  my  first  call 
upon  Chinese  ladies  by  saying  to  His  Excellency  Li 
Hung  Chang,  that,  if  agreeable  to  him  and  his  family, 
I  should  be  pleased  to  call  and  pay  my  respects.  .  .  . 
After  the  troubles  of  1900  Her  Majesty  issued  many 
invitations  for  audiences,  and  these  invitations  were 
accepted.  Then  followed  my  tiffin  to  the  court  prin- 
cesses and  their  tiffin  in  return.  This  opened  the  way 
for  other  princesses  and  wives  of  high  officials  to  call, 
receive  calls,  to  entertain  and  be  entertained. 

In  some  cases  arrangements  were  made  by  Mrs. 
Headland,  who  for  many  years  had  been  physi- 
cian to  these  princesses.  For  months  this  social 
round  of  luncheons,  tiffins  and  teas  was  kept  up 
between  the  American  ladies  and  these  jDrin- 
cesses,  and  Manchu  and  Chinese  ladies  of  the 
highest  official  circles.  Several  of  these  Chinese 
ladies  have  adopted  their  afternoon  "at  home," 
when  they  see  their  friends  after  European 
fashion. 

It  was  an  education  to  them.  On  one  occa-  A  Surprise. 
sion  when  the  Dowager  Princess  K'e  was  calling 
on  one  of  the  missionaries  with  the  princesses  of 
her  palace,  the  table  had  been  prepared  in  the 
most  dainty  and  tasteful  way.  When  the 
servant  slid  the  folding  doors,  and  the  hostess  in- 
vited them  to  step  out  into  the  dining  room  and 
have  a  cup  of  tea,  the  Dowager  Princess  arose, 
and,  as  she  gazed  upon  the  flower-bedecked  table, 
she  exclaimed,  "I  have  seen  such  pictures 
through  the  stereoscope,  but  I  never  thought  I 
should  see  them  in  real  life!" 


Together. 


56  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

Chinese Fami-        There  IS  a  general  impression  among  foreigners 
hes  Eat  ^j-,j^|.  j.}-,g  Chinese  families  of  the  better  classes  do 

not  eat  together, — that  the  women  prepare  the 
food,  the  men  are  served  first,  and  whatever  is 
left  is  given  to  the  women.  I  doubted- this,  and 
was  often  told  by  Chinese  friends  of  the  middle 
classes  that  it  was  not  true.  One  young  Chinese 
friend  who  taught  the  boys  in  an  official  family 
assured  me  that  he  often  ate  with  the  family,  the 
father  sitting  at  one  end  of  the  table,  the  mother 
at  the  other,  the  boys  and  the  teacher  on  one  side, 
and  their  wives  and  sisters  on  the  other. 

My  doubts  were  dispelled  when  calling  on  a 
young  Chinese  gentleman  and  his  wife,  both 
grandchildren  of  viceroys.  There  was  with  them 
at  the  time  another  grandson  of  a  viceroy,  and 
the  grandson  of  a  member  of  the  Grand  Council. 
During  the  conversation  which  was  about  the 
common  customs  of  our  countries  and  joeople,  I 
said,  "I  want  to  ask  you  a  question,  and  you  will 
pardon  me  for  doing  so  I  am  s\ire,  for  the  only 
way  we  foreigners  have  of  learning  about  the 
home  life  of  the  Chinese  is  to  inquire.  There 
is  a  general  impression  among  foreigners  that 
when  a  Chinese  family  is  at  home  together,  the 
women  prepare  the  food  and  serve  the  men,  and 
then  they  eat  what  is  left.  Now  do  such  families 
as  yours,  when  no  guests  are  present,  father, 
mother  and  children,  all  eat  at  the  same  table  at 
the  same  time?" 

Both   the  young  man  and   his  wife  assured   me 
that  that  was  always  the  custom  in  their  homes. 


Field  Women  in  China 

Woman's  Board  of  Missions 


THE   CHINESE    WOMAN  57 

''Then  the  women  do  not  serve  the  men  first 
and  then  eat  what  is  left?"   I  inquired. 

"No,"  said  one  of  the  other  young  men,  with    A  Chinese 
a  twinkle  in   his  eye,  "but   we  men  have  a   joke  Joke, 
which    is    general,  that    when    we  entertain  our 
friends,  and  the  women  prepare   the  food   for  us, 
they  keep  the  best  little  tidbits  for  themselves." 

Much  has  been  written  of  the  Chinese  custom  Foot-binding, 
of  binding  the  feet  of  the  girls,  and  very  much 
has  been  done  by  the  Manchus,  who  never  bind 
their  feet,  to  break  up  this  custom.  Whatever 
may  be  said  as  to  the  origin  of  the  custom,  and 
there  are  several  stories  current  among  the 
Chinese  as  to  its  origin,  it  has  been  practiced  for 
the  most  part,  because  it  is  a  custom,  because 
everybody  likes  to  have  small  feet,  and  because  it 
adds  to  their  beauty. 

One  story  of  its  origin  is  that  a  princess  with 
club  feet,  bound  them  to  cover  up  her  deformity. 
Another  lays  the  blame  at  the  door  of  one  Yao 
Niang,  a  favorite  concubine  of  the  Emperor.  Still 
another  says  that  it  started  in  the  effort  of  a 
crusty  husband  to  keep  his  wife  from  gadding. 
This  is  the  reason  given  in  the  "Classic  for 
Girls,"  where  we  find  the  following  stanza: — 

Have  jou  ever  learned  the  reason 

For  the  binding  of  your  feet? 
'Tis  from  fear  that  'twill  be  easy 

To  go  out  upon  the  street. 
It  is  not  that  they  are  handsome 

When  thus  like  a  crooked  bow, 
That  ten  thousand  wraps  and  bindings 

Are  thus  bound  around  them  so. 


58  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  author  wishes 
to  draw  the  moral  here  rather  than  to  give  the 
underlying  reason,  for  in  the  next  verse,  a  similar 
moral  is  drawn  from  the  boring  of  the  ears  The 
author  says : — 

Have  you  ever  learned  the  reason 

Why  your  ears  should  punctured  be? 
'Tis  that  you  may  never  listen 

To  the  talk  of  Chang  or  Li. 
True  the  holes  were  made  for  earrings 

That  your  face  may  be  refined, 
But  the  other  better  reason 

You  should  always  keep  in  mind. 

Was  there  ever  a  woman  in  this  world  who 
bored  her  ears  to  remind  herself  that  she  was  not 
to  listen  to  the  idle  gossip  of  the  neighbors.'' 
The  custom  of  foot-binding  is  doubtless  a  result 
of  the  universal  desire  for  small  feet.  That  there 
is  terrible  suffering  connected  with  it  is  evi- 
denced by  their  proverb,  that  "For  every  pair  of 
bound  feet  there  is  a  bed  full  of  tears."  Happily 
as  a  result  of  the  influence  of  the  church,  the 
girls'  schools,  the  anti-foot-binding  society,  and 
the  reform  that  is  sweeping  over  the  country, 
foot-binding  is  in  disrepute.  But  women's  cus- 
toms die  hard,  and  the  Chinese  may  be  expected 
to  have  a  constitution  or  a  republic  before  they 
have  entirely  discarded  the  fashion  of  foot- 
binding. 

I  have  referred  to  the  Chinese  woman  as  a 
poet  and  a  scholar;  let   me  now  call   attention   to 


THE   CHINESE    WOMAN  59 

her  in  other  vocations  of  life.  The  brother  of  Woman  in 
the  Lady  Ts'ao,  the  author  of  the  book  for  girls  Literature, 
already  referred  to,  was  the  historiographer  of 
the  Han  dynasty.  When  he  died  his  sister  was 
chosen  to  complete  his  history  of  the  former 
dynasty,  and  Chinese  literary  men  confess  with 
pride  that  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  where 
her  brother's  work  ended  and  hers  began. 

Many  Chinese  women  were  artists  of  note,  and  Woman  in 
in  a  biographical  encyclopedia  of  Chinese  artists.    Art. 
of  the  twenty-four  volumes,  four  were  devoted  to 
the   biographies  of  great  Chinese  women  artists. 

In  a  painting  in  my  possession,  "one  hundred 
birds  are  paying  their  respects  to  the  phenix, " 
the  king  and  queen  of  birds.  Each  of  the  birds 
is  almost  life  size.  It  was  painted  by  a  woman 
more  than  three  hundred  years  ago,  and  is  one  of 
the  finest  pieces  of  bird  painting  ever  seen  in  any 
country.  Many  women  of  the  present  time,  in- 
cluding the  late  Empress  Dowager,  the  Lady 
Miao,  her  painting  teacher,  and  the  Princess  Yii 
Lan,  are  artists  of  some  ability. 

Among  the  great  rulers  of  China  there  are  Women 
three  whose  names  will  be  preserved  as  long  as  Rulers. 
Chinese  history  lasts.  The  first  was  the  Em- 
press Lii  Hou,  of  the  Han  dynasty,  about  the  be- 
ginning of  our  era;  the  second,  Wu  Tzu  Tien,  a 
Buddhist  nun  of  the  Tang  dynasty,  about  the 
eighth  century,  who  was  taken  into  the  palace  as 
a  concubine,  and  dominated  the  empire;  and  the 
third    is   the   late   Empress   Dowager.       But    the 


60  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

author  of  the  third  of  the  "Four  Books  for 
Girls,"  who  was  herself  the  Empress  of  Yung 
Lo,  the  third  Emperor  of  the  Ming  dynasty, 
about  five  hundred  years  ago,  held  that  the  great- 
ness of  every  emperor  who  has  ruled,  China 
during  her  whole  history  is  due  to  the  advice  and 
assistance  he  received  from  his  wife.  After 
allowing  for  the  fact  that  she  is  trying  to  impress 
upon  the  women  of  the  palace  and  the  country 
the  importance  of  being  good,  we  can  still  see 
the  tremendous  influence  which  the  Chinese 
women  feel  that  they  have  in  the  home. 
Women  in  Again  among  the  warriors  of  the  world  China 

War.  furnishes  us  a  Joan  of  Arc,  Chin  Mu  Lan.      We 

are  told  that  when  the  father  of  this  lady,  who 
was  a  great  general,  was  too  old  to  take  his  place 
at  the  head  of  the  army  and  put  down  a  rebellion 
in  Turkestan,  and  her  brothers  were  too  young, 
she  dressed  herself  in  men's  garb,  and  for  nine 
years  led  the  army  to  successive  victories,  all  the 
time  concealing  her  sex  and  making  for  herself 
an  everlasting  reputation.  When  she  returned 
to  her  home,  and  was  summoned  into  the  presence 
of  the  Emperor,  she  still  remained  incognito, 
then  took  up  her  domestic  role,  and  remains  to 
this  day  one  of  the  most  attractive  studies  for 
artists.  Nor  should  we  forget  that  during  the 
Boxer  rebellion  of  1900  there  was  a  red  lantern 
society  composed  of  women,  who  took  their  place 
beside  their  brothers  in  their  hopeless  effort  to 
drive  out  the   foreigner,  and   save   their  country 


THE   CHINESE    WOMAN  61 

from    being   divided    up    among    the   nations    of 
Europe. 

You  know,  everybody  knows,  that  the  disposi-  a  Woman's 
tion  of  woman  is  alike  all  over  the  world,  and  Will, 
that  when  she  wants  anything  that  belongs  to  her 
by  right,  the  easiest  thing  to  do  is  to  let  her  have 
it,  or  she  will  get  in  some  other  way — her  own 
way — what  she  wants,  in  spite  of  the  most 
serious  opposition,  and  the  wise  man  in  China 
chooses  the  less  of  two  evils.  This  is  well  illus- 
trated by  a  story  told  by  a  friend. 

"While  talking  with  an  official  about  the  wor-   Worshiping 
ship   of   idols   one    day   there   was   a    large   stone   Idols, 
image  near  by  and   I   said  to  him,  'You   do  not 
worship  that,  do  you.'''  " 

"No,  I  do  not  worship  that.  You  go  with 
me  and  I  can  show  you  the  quarry  from  which 
the  stone  was  taken  to  make  that  idol,  and  the 
chips  left  by  the  stonecutters.  I  can  tell  you 
how  much  gold  was  required  to  gild  it.  Why 
should  I  worship  that?" 

"A  few  days  thereafter,  I  saw  this  same 
official,  clothed  in  hat,  boots  and  official  garb, 
with  candles,  incense  and  cash  in  hand,  making 
his  way  in  a  slow  and  dignified  manner  to  the 
temple.  I  saw  him  light  his  incense,  place  it  in 
the  burner  and  fall  upon  his  knees  and  knock  his 
head  on  the  ground  again  and  again  before  the  idol. 
The  next  day  I  met  him  and  told  him  of  my  surprise 
at  seeing  him  in  the  temple  worshiping  the  idol 
which  he  assured  me  he  did  not  worship. 


62  CHINAS   NEW  DAT 

"He  took  me  by  the  arm,  and  said,  'You  are 
a  sensible  man.  You  have  a  wife  and  children 
— and  a  mother-in-law.  If  you  had  a  little  boy 
who  was  ill,  and  it  came  to  a  choice  between 
worshiping  that  idol,  or  having  a  row  wjth  your 
mother-in-law,  you  would  go  and  worship  the 
idol,  now  wouldn't  you?'  " 

Those  who  think  that  the  Chinese  woman  is 
not  a  person  who  is  capable  of  standing  beside 
her  husband  should  read  the  following  account 
of  a  meeting  of  women  held  in  Canton  in  1908: — 
A  Great  The  meeting,  convened    in  connection  with   the  diffi- 

Meetinfj  culty  between  China  and   Japan,  was  a  unique  one,  and 

is  responsible  to  a  great  extent  for  the  growing  strength 
of  the  boycotting  movement.  The  proceedings  were 
conducted  in  a  perfectly  orderly  manner,  and  stirring 
addresses  were  made  for  four  hours.  The  weather  con- 
ditions were  wholly  adverse;  but  notwithstanding  the 
drenching  rain  that  fell  continuously,  fully  ten  thou- 
sand women  came  together  at  the  place  of  meeting. 
For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  this  great  commer- 
cial center,  the  main  thoroughfares  were  kept  open  by 
properly  appointed  police,  told  off  for  the  duty  of  reg- 
ulating the  traffic  in  order  to  facilitate  the  progress  of 
the  wives  and  daughters  of  its  citizens  to  a  meeting  in 
which  they  were  to  vindicate  their  claim  to  be  heard  in 
indignant  protest  against  national  injustice  and  wrong. 
Leaving  out  of  account  the  merits  of  the  question  at 
issue,  we  say  advisedly  that  there  never  was  a  more 
significant  function  in  its  bearing  on  the  future  of  a 
nation  than  the  women's  mass  meeting  in  Canton. 

The  new  life  that  is  now  stirring  the  people  affects 
women  as  well  as  men.  A  writer  in  the  Hong  Kong 
Journal  says:  "Not  the  most  optimistic  or  enthusiastic 
revolutionary,  who  from  the  viewpoint  of  twenty  years 


New  Life. 


THE   CHINESE    WOMAN  63 

ago  looked  forward  to  the  changes  that  then  seemed 
impending,  would  have  dared   to  prophesy  an  overturn-  < 

ing  and  recasting  so  complete  as  that  which  now  meets 
the  gaze  in  certain  aspects  of  social  and  political  life 
in  China.  Few  things  have  been  more  rapid  or  more 
startling  than  the  emancipation  of  women,  and  the 
acquiescence  of  officials  and  other  responsible  leaders 
among  the  people  in  the  position  of  women  as  a  leading 
factor  in  public  life.  The  Orientalized  woman  in  the 
chief  centers  of  intellectual  activity  is  a  creature  of  the 
past.  She  is  becoming  every  year  more  Occidental  in 
respect  to  the  position  claimed  by  her,  as  a  figure  in 
the  new  world,  where  she  is  ultimately  to  achieve  vic- 
tory in  every  conflict  for  the  rights  of  her  sex  in  the 
advanced  and  progressive  commonwealth.  National 
spirit  in  its  most  potent  forms,  working  for  good  or 
for  evil,  is  raised  to  the  highest  plane  of  effectiveness 
when  it  dominates  womanhood." 

Mrs.  Chauncey  Goodrich  of  Peking  describes 
an  interesting  meeting  of  women  held  in  the 
capital  in  January,  1911: — 

Two  ladies,  Mrs.  Feng  and  Mrs.   Kung,  both  wives  of    Women  and 
high   officials,  the    former  a  widow  and    head  of  a  gov-    the  Opium 
ernment  kindergarten  and  preparatory  school,  were  the    Question, 
leaders  of   the  movement.     When   they   heard   that   the 
Christian  people  of  England  were  anxious  that  no  more 
opium  should  be  imported   into  China,  they  decided    to 
call    a  meeting  of   Chinese  women    who    would    express 
the  sentiment  of  the  Chinese  people.     These  two  ladies 
wrote   letters    inviting    the  people  to  come.     Ten  thou- 
sand of  these  were  published  and  scattered  abroad.     The 
preparations  were  extensive.     The  meeting  was  held  in 
an  official    building  next   door  to  that  of   Prince  Shun, 
brother  of    the    Regent.     Eight   hundred    women   were 
present,  most  of    them  wives  and  daughters  of   officials 


64 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 


The  Bruised 
Women  to 
the  Sheltered 
'Women. 


The  Real 
Place  of 
Women. 


or  of  the  better  classes.  Sheets  of  paper  on  small 
boards  were  prepared  on  which  the  ladies  were  asked 
to  write  their  names.  Anti-opium  songs  had  been 
written  to  the  tunes  of  the  kindergarten,  which  the 
children  sang.  Mrs.  Feng,  in  a  touching  address  de- 
scribing the  horrors  of  the  ravages  of  opium,  with 
tears  streaming  down  her  cheeks,  reminded  tKe  women 
again  and  again,  that  the  "Christians  of  England  are 
on  our  side."  Christian  girls  from  the  Woman's  Col- 
lege sang  several  songs,  and  played  selections  on  the 
piano.  Fires  were  all  about  the  room  in  brass  braziers, 
Chinese  refreshments  were  served  in  a  side  room,  while 
a  special  room  was  prepared  with  foreign  furniture  and 
foreign  refreshments  for  the  English  and  American 
guests.  Most  of  these  ladies  signed  their  r^ames,  and 
within  six  weeks'  time  they  had  secured  the  signatures 
of  3,512  women  and  girls. 

Now  comes  the  most  touching  part.  After  the  demi- 
mondes had  heard  of  the  movement  they  wrote  an  appeal 
asking  that  their  names  be  sent — not  in  the  same  list, — 
they  could  not  ask  for  that,  but  in  a  separate  list,  say- 
ing that  most  of  them  had  been  sold  into  this  life  of 
shame  by  opium  smoking  fathers  or  brothers  or  hus- 
bands, saying  also:  "We  are  in  a  shoreless  sea.  There 
is  no  possibility  of  helping  us,  but  it  may  save  others 
from  a  similar  fate.  There  are  those  who  think  that 
we  are  flippant  and  enjoy  this  life.  They  do  not  know 
how  often  we  must  smile  upon  guests  we  despise.  We 
beat  our  breasts  and  cry  aloud,  but  there  is  no  help  for 
us.  We  feared  to  write  this  lest  it  would  soil  your 
eyes."  Thirty-three  names  were  on  this  list,  one  of 
whom,  the  promoter,  was  said  to  be  the  daughter  of  a 
man  who  was  educated  abroad. 

Now  let  not  my  readers  quote  any  sentence,  or 
combination  of  sentences,  of  that  which  I  have 
written,  and  pretend  that  this  describes  the  actual 


THE    CHINESE    WOMAN  65 

position  and  lot  of  the  Chinese  woman.  It  does 
not.  It  is  theoretically  her  position  according  to 
Chinese  ideals.  "She  shonld  follow  and  be 
humble."  "  She  is  as  earth, "  to  receive ;  "her 
husband  is  as  heaven,"  to  give.  She  may  not 
perform  the  sacrifices,  she  may  not  worship  her 
ancestors, — indeed  she  has  no  ancestors  to  wor- 
ship. When  she  marries,  she  becomes  a  part  of 
her  husband's  family,  and  severs  every  tie  that 
bound  her  to  her  own.  Her  parents  become  dead 
to  her — unless  her  husband's  family  overdo  the 
bad  treatment,  when  there  may  be  a  village  dis- 
turbance.     But  that  is  simply  by  the  way. 

Now  what  really  happens  in  a  Chinese  home.!*  what  Hap- 
I  am  not  going  to  take  exceptional  and  awful  pe^g  j^  a 
cases,  but  simply  give  you  facts  as  I  found  thein  Home? 
in  this  investigation.  I  have  been  confining  my- 
self to  the  middle  and  upper  classes  for  the  most 
part,  because,  if  the  condition  of  this  small  and 
favored  portion  of  the  community  is  undesirable, 
what  must  be  the  condition  of  the  woman  in  the 
mud  hut  and  the  country  hovel !  It  would  be 
impossible  to  describe  it  in  such  a  way  as  to 
enable  you  to  understand  it,  if  you  have  never 
visited  an  Oriental  country.  The  poveity  and 
dirt  in  our  own  great  cities  approximate  that  of 
these  poor  people  in  the  Orient,  except  that  our 
people  can  go  out  upon  clean  streets  and  clean 
parks  and  see  the  possibilities  of  life,  but  these 
in  China  cannot.  There  is  absolutely  no  hope  for 
them  until   there    are  social,  political,  economic, 


66  CHINAS  NEW  DAI 

educational  and  religious  upheavals  in  China. 
Some  of  these  changes  are  coming  for  the  men, 
and  the  new  education  (as  we  shall  show  in 
another  chapter)  will  bring  about  some  changes 
for  some  women.  Will  it  for  these?  What  will 
you  do  to  help  ? 
Conditions  in  Perhaps  the  worst  of  all  domestic  conditions  in 
the  Home.  China  are  poverty,  the  inability  of  the  woman  to 
go  out  into  service  of  any  kind  and  help  herself, 
and  concubinage.  Shut  up  in  the  common  fam- 
ily home,  in  which  live  several  families  and  as 
many  generations,  if  she  is  poor,  she  has  little  to 
do;  for  she  has  nothing  to  work  with,  no  separate 
home  of  her  own  to  keep  clean  and  neat,  no 
clothes  to  give  her  an  appearance  of  respectability  ; 
while  on  the  other  hand  she  has  other  women  to 
quarrel  or  gossip  with  her,  with  constant  com- 
plaints and  jealousies.  Congenial  employment 
which  would  bring  her  some  income  of  her  own 
is  one  of  her  real  needs. 
Concubinage.  But  the  greatest  of  all  defects  in  Chinese  social 

life  is  concubinage,  with  its  attendant  evils. 
While  the  law  recognizes  but  one  legal  wife,  law 
and  immemorial  custom  have  permitted  the  pres- 
ence of  the  concubine,  "or  little  wife,"  in  the 
home.  Theoretically  the  wife  gives  her  husband 
a  concubine,  in  reality  she  is  obliged  to  accept  with 
what  grace  she  can  the  concubine  whom  her  hus- 
band brings  into  the  home.  When  one  considers 
that  in  one  household  are  sheltered  grandfather 
and  grandmother,  sons  and  sons'  wives,  children. 


THE    CHINESE     WOMAN  67 

concubines  and  slave  girls,  it   is  not  difficult  to 
understand  the  unhappiness  which  often  exists. 

An  evil  akin  to  that  of  the  concubine,  but  Tte  Slave 
even  more  pitiable,  is  that  of  the  slavery  of  girls.  Girl. 
A  father  has  the  right  to  sell  his  daughter  into 
domestic  slavery  or  for  evil  purposes.  Often 
under  the  pressure  of  the  terrible  poverty  which 
always  threatens  the  Chinese  working  man,  or  to 
relieve  debt  or  to  get  money  for  opium,  babies, 
children  or  young  girls  are  thus  sold.  The  slave 
girl  is  wholly  at  the  mercy  of  her  mistress  if  she 
be  a  household  servant,  or  her  master  if  she  be 
sold  for  gain.  Many  pitiable  stories  might  be 
told  of  the  sufferings  of  these  helpless  creatures. 

There  was  a  little  girl  brought  one  day  to  our  A  Patketi 
woman's  hospital.  The  men  who  brought  her  Case, 
had  bought  her  as  a  child.  The  doctors,  after 
examining  her,  found  her  in  a  pitiable  plight, 
and  they  threatened  the  men  with  prosecution. 
The  men  became  frightened  and  wanted  to  take 
her  away,  when  the  doctors  and  the  ladies  of  the 
Women's  Society  offered  to  buy  her.  As,  in  her 
present  condition,  she  was  of  no  further  use  to 
them,  and  would  be  only  a  source  of  expense  or 
embarrassment,  they  sold  her  for  a  few  dollars. 
Themissionariestook  herintothehospitaland  byat- 
tention  and  treatmentthey  restored  hertoanormal 
condition  of  health.  She  was  a  pretty  girl,  and 
a  good  girl,  and  they  made  her  an  assistant  or 
helper  in  the  hospital.  The  brother  of  one  of  the 
mission  cooks  saw  her  later,  was  attracted  by  her 


68  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

appearance,  and  asked  for  her.  They  explained 
her  whole  history  to  both  him  and  his  brother, 
and  assured  him  that  if  he  took  her  and  then  did 
not  treat  her  well  that  they  would  report  him  to 
the  official.  Still  he  wanted  her  and  thej^  finally 
married  her  to  him. 

A  Baby  Girl.  Not  long  thereafter  a  baby  girl  was  left  at  the 
hospital  gate.  Naturally  they  took  it  in  hoping 
that  they  might  save  its  life,  and  find  a  home  for 
it.  When  this  couple  heard  of  it  they  asked  for 
the  baby.  It  was  given  to  them,  and  one  of  the 
pictures  that  I  shall  never  forget  as  long  as  I 
live,  is  thatof  this  foster-father,  stalkingup  the  aisle 
of  the  church   on  Sunday  morning  with  the  little 

"Our  Baby."  gill  in  hisarms, — ^^tsa  men  ii  baby — ourbaby,  "as 
they  called  it,  and  as  everyone  finally  called  it,  his 
little  wife  following  demurely  after.  He  found 
her  a  seat,  gave  her  the  baby,  then  found  a  seat 
for  himself  across  the  aisle.  If  the  child  cried 
during  the  service,  he  would  take  her  out  until 
she  became  quiet  and  then  return  her  to  her 
mother.  It  was  pathetic  in  its  beauty.  I  wish 
that  I  had  been  the  one  who  furnished  the  money 
to  save  the  girl!  She  is  only  one  of  tens  of 
thousands  of  such  slave  girls  who  are  unwillingly 
sold  to  such  a  life. 

A  Noble  The  granddaughter  of  the  Grand  Secretary  was 

Character.  a  constant  visitor  at  our  home.  Often  have  I 
conversed  with  her  on  art,  on  literature  and  on 
religion.  vShe  was  very  much  interested  in 
Christianity,  so  much    so   that   after  Mrs.  Head- 


THE    CHINESE    WOMAN         69 

land  had  given  her  books  to  read,  she  requested 
that  one  of  the  girls  from  the  school  should  be 
allowed  to  come  and  talk  with  her  about  the 
gospel.  After  the  Boxer  trouble  she  told  Mrs. 
Headland  the  following  story: — 

"My  head  servant   was  out   on   the  street  one   A  Girl  for 
day    and     met    a    man    with     a     little    girl,    his  $2.50. 
daughter,  whom  he  offered  for  sale,  that  he  might 
use  the  price  of  her  to  buy  opium.      Her  mother 
was  dead   and   my    servant   bought   her   for   two 
dollars  and  a  half. 

"I  took  her  as  a  little  slave  girl  and  she  proved 
to  be  very  faithful,  but  when  the  feast   day  came 
and  I  told  her  to  worship  the  idols,  she  replied,    "I  do  not 
'  Wo  pu  pai  chia  sJien^   I    do    not  worship   the  Worship 

•  ]    1      J  Idols." 

idols. 

"  'But,  you  will  grow  up  to  be  a  bad  woman, 
if  you  do  not  worship  the  idols,'  I  urged. 

"  'I  do  not  worship  the  idols,  I  just  worship 
Jesus,'  she  insisted,  and  as  she  was  such  a  good 
little  girl,  a  Roman  Catholic  Christian,  I  did  not 
compel  her  to  worship  the  idols. 

"Years  passed  by  and  the  Boxer  trouble  came. 
The  Boxers  issued  a  proclamation  that  all  persons 
having  Christians  in  their  homes,  or  knowing  of 
their  whereabouts,  must  turn  them  over  to  the 
Boxers. 

"The  slave  girl  came  to  me  and  begged 
that  she  be  not  given  up,  and  I  decided  to  move 
to  my  grandfather's,  thinking  that  they  would 
not  dare  to  molest  a  person  in  as  high  position  as 


70  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

a  Grand  Secretary,  My  grandmother  came  to  me 
and  ordered  me  to  give  up  the  little  girl.  The 
child  begged  in  such  a  pathetic  way  that  I  de- 
cided not  to  do  so,  and  for  a  time  all  was  quiet. 

"By  and  by  they  issued  another  proclamation, 
saying  that  they  proposed  to  search  every  home 
in  Peking,  and  wherever  they  found  a  Christian 
harbored,  they  would  treat  all  the  inmates  as 
though  they  were  Christians. 
Saved  by  ''Again    my    grandmother     came    to    us    and 

Begging.  ordered  me  to  give  her  up,  saying  that  she  would 

not  allow  her  to  remain  in  her  home.  Again 
the  little  girl  pleaded,  and  I  finally  sent  out  on 
the  street  and  bought  two  beggars'  garbs,  decid- 
ing to  dress  ourselves  in  them  and  beg  our  way 
to  Paoting-fu  where  my  uncle  would  protect  us." 

"But,"  said  Mrs.  Headland,  "you  could  not 
look  like  a  beggar  with  your  fair  white  hands 
and  face,  and  your  smooth  black  hair." 

"Oh,  we  stained  our  hands,  arms  and  face  and 
we  brought  in  dust  from  the  street  and  rubbed  it 
in  our  hair  until  we  looked  like  beggars." 

"But  your  little  feet,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Head- 
land, for  they  were  not  more  than  three  inches 
long  and  she  never  walked  anywhere  except  lean- 
ing on  the  arm  of  a  servant,  and  never  went  out 
on  the  street  except  in  a  cart  or  a  chair. 

"  There  was  nothing  for  us  to  do  but  to  walk, " 
she  answered,  "and  after  nightfall  we  w^ent  out 
on  the  street  and  started  to  beg  our  w^ay  to  Pao- 
ting-fu,  ninety  miles   away.      Next  morning  the 


THE    CHINESE    WOMAN         71 

sun  rose  burning  hot,  for  it  was  July.  There 
were  drenching  showers  of  rain,  and  we  had  no 
place  to  sleep  at  night  but  in  the  open  gateways 
by  the  roadside  as  we  passed  along,  and  when 
we  met  the  first  company  of  Boxers,  my  knees 
knocked  together  for  fear  they  would  discover  a 
cross  on  the  little  girl's  head." 

"But  you  did  not  really  think  they  could  see  a 
cross  where  you  could  not?" 

"When  we  started  I  did.  But  after  we  had 
passed  two  companies  of  Boxers,  I  did  not  be- 
lieve they  could.  For  four  days  we  waded 
through  mud  and  rain  and  burning  heat,  and  then 
arrived  at  Paoting-fu.  But  when  we  reached  my 
uncle's  place,  we  did  not  dare  go  in  lest  the 
people  might  circulate  the  report  that  he  was 
harboring  Christians." 

"What  did  you  do?" 

"We  waited  until  I  saw  an  old  servant  whom  1 
recognized,  and  then  I  followed  him  and  in  a 
whining  tone  as  though  begging,  I  told  him  my 
story  and  asked  him  to  open  the  side  gate  after 
nightfall  and  let  us  in.  He  did  so,  and  we  went 
into  my  uncle's  home.  They  were  both  waiting 
for  us  and  when  they  saw  us  they  burst  into  tears. 
The  servants  gave  us  a  bath,  but  when  they  un- 
bound my  feet  they  had  blistered  and  festered,  and 
for  weeks  they  were  covered  with  running  sores 
so  that  I  could  not  walk  but  was  confined  to  the 
brick  bed." 

She  stopped,  and  Mrs.  Headland  put  her  arms 


72  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

around  her  in  sympathy,  as  she  exclaimed, 
"What  a  hard  thing  to  do!" 

"Yes,  it  was  hard,"  she  answered,  "but  I 
saved  the  little  girl." 

This  incident  ought  to  give  us  some  idea  of  the 
character  of  the  Chinese  woman.  She  is  worth 
working  for  and  saving.  And  the  faithfulness  of 
the  little  slave  girl  ought  to  be  some  indication 
as  to  what  kind  of  a  nation  she  would  help  to 
make  if  they  were  a  Christian  people. 
Schools  Side  Wherever  we  establish   a   Christian   college   in 

by  Side.  the  non-Christian  world,  it   is  the  custom  of  the 

various  women's  societies  to  establish  a  girls' 
school  in  close  proximity.  This  is  for  the  reason 
that  the  individual  is  not  the  unit  of  the  national 
life.  The  family  is  the  unit.  Marry  a  good 
man  to  a  bad  woman  and  you  have  spoiled  the 
unit.  Conversely  marry  a  good  woman  to  a  bad 
man  and  you  have  spoiled  the  unit.  But  marry 
a  good  Christian  woman  to  a  good  Christian  man 
and  you  start  a  home  which  is  a  center  of  light 
to  any  neighborhood. 

Near  to  the  North  China  College  of  the  Amer- 
ican Board  Mission  is  the  Women's  College. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission 
in  Peking,  the  London  Mission,  the  English 
Church  Mission,  while  the  Peking  University, 
the  Nanking  University,  the  Foochow  University, 
the  Anglo-Chinese  College  of  Shanghai,  St. 
John's  University — indeed  all  the  leading  schools, 
colleges,     universities     and     union     educational 


THE    CHINESE    WOMAN         73 

schemes  for  boys,  have  girls'  schools  in  their 
vicinity.  This  is  not  done  chiefly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  bringing  the  young  people  together,  but 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  them  an  education,  yet 
the  other  is  no  doubt  a  part  of  the  scheme. 

One  of  these  young  students,  Mark  by  name,  was  A  Noble 
married  the  day  he  graduated,  to  vSarah,  the  Woman. 
youngest  daughter  of  Old  Mother  Wang.  Now 
Sarah  was  fond  of  a  fine  silk  gown  as  any  woman. 
She  was  anxious  to  have  a  good  comfortable 
home.  If  her  husband  entered  business  he  could 
begin  with  a  salary  of  from  twenty-five  to  fifty 
dollars  a  month;  while  if  he  entered  the  church 
as  a  preacher  he  would  receive  but  five  dollars  a 
month  with  no  hope  at  that  time  of  ever  getting 
more  than  ten.  The  day  Mark  graduated  they 
were  married.  That  evening  vSarah  said  to  him, 
"Mark,  what  are  you  going  to  do?" 

"Oh,  I  do  not  know.      What  do  you  think?" 

"I  have  heard  you  speak  in  the  church  here. 
God  has  called  you  to  preach." 

"Yes,  but  what  are  we  going  to  live  on?"  that 
is  the  eternal  interrogation  when  a  man  takes 
upon  himself  the  responsibility  and  the  support 
of  a  home. 

"Mark,  if  God  calls  you  to  preach,  God  will 
take  care  of  us,"  said  Sarah,  and  they  knelt 
together  and  prayed. 

The  next  morning  Mark  went  to  the  missionary 
who  had  helped  him  through  college  and  said, 
"I  will  preach  the  gospel." 


74  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

An  Appeal.  And   now,  women,  I   appeal   to   you.      I   have 

not  given  you  a  dismal  view  of  Chinese  woman- 
hood. But  if  I  have  failed  to  show  you  her 
helplessness  under  her  present  conditions,  I  have 
not  succeeded  in  painting  the  picture  I  have  un- 
dertaken. I  have  tried  to  show  you  a  noble 
woman  shut  up  in  a  home,  with  daughters, 
daughters-in-law,  concubines,  servants  and  slave 
girls;  in  which  theie  is  all  the  human  tendency 
to  selfishness,  jealousy,  ambition,  gossip — why 
some  of  you  find  it  hard  to  live  peaceably  with  a 
cook  and  a  maid, — what  of  the  Chinese  woman? 

The  Supreme         The    Supreme   opportunity   has   now   come    for 

Opportunity,  girls'  schools  and  their  great  work.  It  is  not 
that  many  or  great  schools  have  been  opened, 
but  that  with  small  equipment  your  workers  have 
done  tremendous  things.  You  began  a  few  years 
ago  by  having  to  pay  girls  to  get  them  in  school. 
Now  all  prejudice  is  gone  ;  men  and  women  alike 
want  their  daughters  educated.  Men  want  educated 
wives.  There  are  parts  of  China  in  which  the 
officials  in  high  positions  publicly  assert  that  they 
will  not  recommend  a  young  man  for  official  posi- 
tion unless  he  have  an  educated  wife!  Are  you 
awake  to  the  opportunity  that  is  now  open  to  you  .'' 

™,     T>.  You  have  been  praying  for  years  that  the  doors 

The  Doors  I        J       t~>  J 

Opened.  may  be  opened.      Did  you  expect  your  prayers  to 

be  answered,  or  were  you  only  repeating  a  for- 
mula? Your  missionaries,  by  their  influence  with 
a  Chinese  woman,  with  your  prayers  as  a  motive 
force,    have   contributed    to  the  opening  of    the 


THE    CHINESE    WOMAN         75 

doors.  Standing  in  the  doorways  of  a  hundred 
millions  of  hovels,  homes  and  palaces,  there  are 
as  many  women  beckoning  you  to  come  and  show 
them  what  a  home  should  be,  what  motherhood 
may  be,  what  home  training  can  do,  toward  the 
making  of  a  life  and  the  shaping  of  a  nation. 
You  are  the  only  ones  who  can  do  it,  for  men  are 
shut  out  of  the  home  life  of  the  women.  Will 
you  go? 

ILLUSTRATIVE    QUOTATIONS 

"Chinese  history  differs  from  that  of  other  people 
with  which  Occidentals  are  familiar  in  the  co-operation 
of  five  factors  nowhere  else  found  in  combination, 
namely  :  comparative  isolation  ;  extended  duration  ;  ex- 
tremely gradual  progression ;  superiority  to  environ- 
ment, and  the  overwhelming  influence  of  resident  forces 
as  compared  with  the  relatively  unimportant  effect  of 
those  from  without."  (Arthur  H.  Smith  in  "China 
and  America  To-day,"  p.  28.) 

"It  is  probably  safe  to  say  that  no  country  not 
Christian  can  show  in  its  legislation  more  care  in 
guarding  the  sacredness  of  family  ties,  defending  the 
purity  of  the  weaker  sex,  and  providing  for  the  main- 
tenance of  widows."  (Dr.  Wells  Williams  in  "Chinese 
Recorder,"  Jan. -Feb.,  1880.) 

"It  was  January  1,  1873,  when  the  Misses  Hoag  and 
Howe,  representatives  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
essayed  to  open  the  school  in  question  (Kiu  Kiang). 
They  had  secured  a  (Chinese)  teacher;  he  in  turn  .  .  . 
secured  two  little  girls  as  pupils.  They  ran  away  be- 
fore night,  but  raised  a  fair  sized  din  for  nearly  the 
whole  forenoon.   .   .   .  The  accumulated  wisdom  of  the 


76  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

centuries  in  thiy  section  of  China  reiterated  that  book 
learning  would  incapacitate  girls  in  the  line  of  womanly 
accomplishments,  such  as  combing  the  hair  and  binding 
the  feet."  (Margaret  Burton  in  "The  Education  of 
Women  in  China,"  p.  44.) 

"The  opportunities  of  education,  in  the  'sense  in 
which  education  is  imparted  by  means  of  books  and 
schools,  were  first  brought  to  the  women  of  China  by 
the  Christian  missionaries. "  ("Education  of  Women 
in  China,"  p.  34.) 

"Whatever  theories  her  literature  might  contain, 
China  as  a  whole  saw  no  value  in  woman's  education 
and  was  strongly  suspicious  that  its  effect  on  women 
would  be  undesirable."     (Ibid,  p.  28.) 

"It  is  a  law  of  nature  that  woman  should  be  kept 
under  the  control  of  man  and  not  allowed  any  will  of 
her  own.  In  the  other  world  the  condition  of  affairs  is 
exactly  the  same,  for  the  same  laws  govern  there  as 
here."     (Confucius.) 

"Woman  is  a  mindless,  soulless  creature."  (Con- 
fucius. ) 

"Of  all  women  of  the  Orient  I  love  the  Chinese 
women  best ;  they  have  so  much  character,  and  are  so 
womanly."     (Isabella  Bird  Bishop.) 

"Morally,  they  (the  women)  are  China's  better  half 
— modest,  graceful  and  attractive."  (Dr.  W.  A.  P. 
Martin.) 

"They  (the  women)  have  been  the  great  force  which 
has  preserved  the  country.  I  say  this  without  fear  of 
contradiction."     (Dr.  Swanson,  of  Amoy.) 

"The  modesty,  strength  and  reserve  of  the  Chinese 
woman  have  impressed  us  profoundly  in  all  parts  of  the 
country."  (Report  of  Deputation  of  The  American 
Board.) 


THE    CHINESE    WOMAN         77 

Note. — The  preceding  quotations  are  from  Miss  Bur- 
ton's book,  "Education  of  Women  in  China,"  a  mine 
of  treasure  for  further  material  on  this  chapter. 

"In  matters  educational  in  China,  it  is  of  special 
significance  to  note  that  schemes  of  magnitude,  which 
hold  in  them  possibilities  such  as  the  most  san- 
guine never  contemplated  until  within  the  past  decade, 
are  now  come  to  be  regarded  as  everyday  events  within 
the  sphere  of  the  commonplace.  Thus  we  find  notice 
of  a  memorial  to  the  throne  from  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, asking  that  .$70,000  be  devoted  to  found  in  the 
capital  a  normal  school  for  the  training  of  women 
teachers,  the  school  to  be  maintained  by  an  annual 
grant  from  the  government  of  $40,000.  The  feature  of 
this  memorial  which  makes  it  essentially  of  the  new 
time  is  the  proposal  to  spend  year  by  year  so  considera- 
ble a  sum  in  providing  for  female  education. 

"One  recalls  the  significant  statement  of  Viceroy 
Yuan  Shi  ki,  shortly  before  his  retirement  from  office: 
'The  most  important  thing  in  China  just  now  is  that 
the  women  be  educated.'  Increasing  numbers  of 
Chinese  women  are  unbinding  their  feet,  and  the  move-  • 
ment  has  the  support  of  the  government  and  of  many 
daily  papers."     ("China  Mail.") 

"The  Chinese  family  needs  a  new  spirit  which  shall 
lay  stress  on  the  duties  of  superiors  to  inferiors,  on  the 
worth  of  each  individual  soul  in  the  sight  of  a  loving 
Father,  on  the  sense  of  personal  responsibility  to  him 
and  not  to  custom.  It  needs  to  learn  that  a  man  should 
forsake  his  father  and  his  mother,  and  cleave  to  his 
wife — to  love  her  as  his  own  flesh.  It  needs  to  learn 
that  'dignity  is  not  one  of  the  fruits  of  the  spirit.'  It 
needs  to  experience  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  set 
us  free  from  the  bondage  of  the  past."  (Arthur  H. 
Smith,  in  the  "Uplift  of  China,"  p.  78.) 

"Bishop  Bashford  writes:  'You  will  be  surprised  to 
know  that    ninety   per  cent  of    our    members   in   West 


78  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

China  are  adult  men,  and  onlj  ten  per  cent  are  women 
and  children.  I  found  the  various  chapels  where  1 
preached  full  of  men,  with  from  two  or  three  up  to 
eight  or  ten  women  in  the  inner  court.  I  often  asked 
these  men  where  their  wives  and  children  were,  and  told 
them  thej  could  have  no  true  church  unless  their  wives 
and  children  were  also  converted  and  brought  into 
Christian  fellowship.  They  answered  me  that  their 
women  had  unbound  their  feet,  but  that  they  had  no 
foreign  women  to  teach  them  the  Jesus  doctrine.  I 
urged  them  to  have  family  prayers,  but  with  from  two 
to  ten  families  often  living  together,  and  with  the 
older  people  having  complete  control,  it  is  almost  im- 
possible for  the  men,  ignorant  as  they  are.  to  establish 
family  prayers,  or  to  teach  their  wives  and  children  at 
home.' 

"It  is  cause  for  rejoicing  that  two  new  women  workers 
are  now  on  their  way  to  this  most  promising  field." 
(Methodist  Leaflet.) 

"Confucius  assigns  to  woman  a  position  of  great 
inferiority.  Man  is  the  representative  of  heaven,  and 
is  supreme  over  all  things.  Woman  yields  obedience 
to  the  instructions  of  man,  and  helps  to  carry  out  his 
principles.  On  this  account  she  can  determine  nothing 
of  herself,  and  is  subject  to  the  rule  of  the  three  obedi- 
ences: when  young,  she  must  obey  her  father  and  elder 
brother;  when  married,  she  must  obey  her  husband; 
when  her  husband  is  dead,  she  must  obey  her  son. 
She  may  not  think  of  marrying  a  second  time.  No  in- 
structions or  orders  must  issue  from  the  harem. 
Woman's  business  is  simply  the  preparation  and  sup- 
plying of  wine  and  food.  Beyond  the  threshold  of  her 
apartments  she  should  not  be  known  for  evil  or  for 
good.  She  may  not  cross  the  boundaries  of  the  state 
to  accompany  a  funeral.  She  may  take  no  step  on  her 
own  motion,  and  may  come  to  no  conclusion  on  her 
own  deliberation."     (Methodist  Leaflet.) 

"Until    last  year   I    cared  very    little    for  the  work  of 


THE    CHINESE    WOMAN  79 

Christ.  I  preached  the  gospel  with  mj  lips,  but  my 
heart  was  not  in  earnest.  It  is  all  different  now!  Last 
summer  I  lost  my  only  son.  My  heart  was  broken, 
rebellious,  until  one  day  it  came  tome  that  many,  many 
of  my  friends  were  praying  for  me.  I  went  to  church, 
and  heard  the  preacher  say  that  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  most  precious  thing  in  all  the  world.  Oh, 
that  word  came  with  power  to  me,  Lady  Teacher!  He 
seemed  to  put  a  beautiful  bud  into  my  heart,  and  it 
has  been  unfolding  and  expanding  ever  since  into  a 
pure,  white  flower.  I  knew  that  my  past  life  had  all 
been  a  seeking  for  the  things  of  this  life;  but  at  that 
time,  Lady  Teacher,  I  felt  my  fleshly  heart  slipping 
away;  and  the  life  of  God  flooding  my  soul  ;  and  since 
then  I  have  wanted  nothing  else,  sought  nothing  else, 
but  to  serve  my  blessed  Master  and  be  used  of  him." 
(A  Chinese  Christian  Woman  in  Congregational  Board 
Leaflet.) 

"  'What  sewing  have  you  been  doing  lately.'"  I  asked, 
after  the  ordinary  greetings  had  been  exchanged.  This 
is  a  staple  and  ever-interesting  topic  of  conversation 
among  the  women  folk  of  our  hard-working  China. 

"  'Not  much,'  said  the  oldest  old  lady,  knocking  the 
ashes  out  of  her  pipe;  'and  of  course,  as  the  dragon 
lifts  his  head  to-day,  no  one  can  touch  a  needle.'  So 
that  was  why  they  were  all  idle!  But  I  still  felt  inquisi- 
tive. I  had  heard  of  the  mythical  Dragon  King,  who 
lives  in  his  great  palaces  under  the  sea,  and  makes  the 
earth  quake  with  a  stir,  and  interferes  with  the  digging 
of  mines  and  other  useful  modern  deeds,  which  he 
hates.  Also  I  knew  that  the  lifting  of  his  head  meant 
spring;  but  the  needle?     I  made  inquiries. 

"  'To-day  he  lifts  his  head,'  they  said  again  simply; 
'if  we  used  a  needle,  we  might  stick  it  into  his  eye, 
without  knowing  it!  So  no  one  dares  sew  to-day,  of 
course.'  "     (Alice  Brown  in  "Life  and  Light.") 


80  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

ONE    OUT    OF    FIVE 

"One  fifth  of  all  the  women  of  the  world  are  found  in 
the  homes  of  China.  One  baby  girl  out  of  every  five  is 
cradled  in  a  Chinese  mother's  arms  unwelcomed  and 
imloved,  unless  by  that  poor  mother's  heart.  One  little 
maiden  out  of  every  five  grows  up  in  ignorance  and 
neglect,  drudging  in  the  daily  toil  of  some  poor-Chinese 
family,  or  crying  over  the  pain  of  her  crippled  feet  in 
the  seclusion  of  a  wealthier  home.  Among  all  the 
youthful  brides,  who  day  by  day  pass  from  the  shelter 
of  their  childhood's  home,  one  out  of  every  five  goes 
weeping  in  China  to  the  tyranny  of  the  mother-in-law 
she  dreads,  and  the  indifference  of  a  husband  she  has 
never  seen.  Of  all  the  wives  and  mothers  in  the  world, 
one  out  of  every  five  turns  in  her  longing  to  a  gilded 
goddess  of  mercy  in  some  Chinese  temple,  counting  her 
beads  and  murmuring  her  meaningless  prayer.  Of  all 
the  women  who  weep,  one  out  of  every  five  weeps  alone, 
uncomforted,  in  China.  Out  of  every  five  who  lie  upon 
beds  of  pain,  one  is  wholly  at  the  mercy  of  Chinese 
ignorance  and  superstition.  One  out  of  every  five,  at 
the  close  of  earthly  life,  passes  into  the  shadow  and 
terror  that  surround  a  Chinese  grave,  never  having 
heard  of  Him  who  alone  can  rob  death  of  its  sting. 
One  fifth  of  all  the  women  are  waiting,  waiting  in 
China,  for  the  Saviour  who  so  long  has  waited  for 
them.  What  a  burden  of  responsibility  does  this  lay 
upon  us — the  women  of  Christendom  I"  (Mrs.  F. 
Howard  Taylor.) 

"Were  the  women  only  converted  we  believe  that  idol- 
atry would  soon  cease  out  of  the  land."  (William 
Muirhead.) 

"Nearly  one  half  of  the  women  of  the  world  belong 
to  the  two  great  empires  of  China  and  India.  .  .  .  The 
women  conserve  the  ancient  religions  and  superstitions 
of  their  country ;  and  what  can  a  man  do  when  the 
women  of  the  household  are  against  him?"  (Isabelle 
Williamson.) 


A  Chinese  1'ride 


THE    CHINESE    WOMAN  81 


INFANTICIDE 

"That  the  custom,  although  often  practiced  in  secret, 
prevails  in  China  cannot  be  doubted.  The  united  testi* 
monj  of  those  who  have  had  ample  opportunities  to 
know  the  facts  pres<rnts  a  body  of  evidence  which  is 
irresistibly  strong,  although  the  custom  is  confined 
almost  exclusively  to  the  destruction  of  girls,  unless  in 
case  of  deformed  or  weakly  infants.  It  is  more  preva- 
lent in  Central  and  Southern  China,  and  is  compara- 
tively rare  in  the  north.  It  is  said  that  poverty  and  the 
desire  to  be  free  from  the  burden  of  caring  for  girls  are 
the  chief  causes  of  its  prevalence.  The  spirit  which 
seems  to  reign  in  the  hearts  of  Chinese  mothers  is  illus- 
trated by  a  conversation  which  Miss  Fielde  reports  in 
'A  Corner  of  Cathay.'  A  pagan  Chinese  woman,  dis- 
couising  upon  the  subject  of  daughters,  remarked,  'A 
daughter  is  a  troublesome  and  expensive  thing  anyway. 
Not  only  has  she  to  be  fed,  but  there  is  all  the  trouble 
of  binding  her  feet,  and  of  getting  her  betrothed,  and  of 
making  up  her  wedding  garments ;  and  even  after  she  is 
married  off  she  must  have  presents  made  to  her  when 
she  has  children.  Really,  it  is  no  wonder  that  so  many 
baby  girls  are  slain  at  their  birth!'  While  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  acccurate  data  is  recognized  by  all,  and 
also  the  fact  that  statements  which  apply  to  certain 
sections  of  the  vast  empire  are  not  representative  of  the 
true  status  in  other  parts,  yet  the  prevalence  of  infanti- 
cide to  a  frightful  extent  is  beyond  question."  (James 
S.  Dennis,  "Christian  Missions  and  Social  Progress," 
Vol.  I,  p.  128.) 

"As  to  whether  Chinese  married  life  is  happy  or  not, 
there  is  this  to  be  said,  that  neither  Chinese  men  nor 
women  know  any  other  kind  of  married  life.  One 
fruitful  source  of  trouble  is  the  polygamy  allowed  by 
custom;  for  quarrels  and  fights,  jealousies  and  envy, 
bickerings  and  disputes,  are  more  or  less  the  inheritance 


82  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

of  the  many-wived  household  ;  and  lawsuits  for  property 
left  by  the  much-married  Chinaman  are  rendered  more 
complicated  by  the  different  interests  of  the  four,  five 
or  six  women  who  all  own  the  deceased  as  their  late 
husband."     (Dyer  Ball,  "Things  Chinese.") 

"The  high-spirited  disposition  of  the  womeri  of  Lung 
Kong  is  shown  in  the  organization  of  an  anti-matrimo- 
nial league,  in  which  the  fair  damsels  of  this  fortunate 
district  bind  themselves  under  solemn  pledges  never  to 
marry.  Such  a  course  is  so  contrary  to  the  whole  his- 
tory and  spirit  of  Chinese  institutions  and  so  daring  a 
challenge  to  the  practices  of  ages,  that  one  cannot  but 
admire  the  spirit  of  independence  and  courage  from 
which  it  springs.  The  existence  of  the  Amazonian 
league  has  long  been  known,  but  as  to  its  rules  and  the 
number  of  its  members  no  definite  information  has 
come  to  hand.  It  is  composed  of  young  widows  and 
marriageable  girls.  Dark  hints  are  given  as  to  the 
methods  used  to  escape  matrimony.  The  sudden  demise 
of  betrothed  husbands,  or  the  abrupt  ending  of  the 
newly-married  husband's  career  suggest  unlawful  means 
for  dissolving  the  bonds.  When  they  submit  to  mar- 
riage they  still  maintain  their  powers  of  will.  One  of 
their  demands  being  that  the  husband  must  go  to  the 
wife's  home  to  live,  or  else  live  without  her  company." 
(Ibid.) 

This  Chinese  poem  may  appeal  to  the  woman  of  the 
East  but  is  quite  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  American 
housekeeper. 

Humanity 
Oh,  spare  the  busy  morning  fly ! 

Spare  the  mosquitoes  of  the  night! 
And  if  their  wicked  trade  they  ply 
Let  a  partition  stop  their  flight. 
Their  span  is  brief  from  birth  to  death; 

Like  you  they  bite  their  little  day; 

And  then  with  autumn's  earliest  breath. 

Like  you  too  they  are  swept  away. 

— Han  T'u. 


THE    CHINESE     WOMAN  83 

"In  China  female  chastity  is  severely  guarded,  and 
there  is  no  licensed  immorality;  yet  a  state  of  things 
which  is  frankly  acknowledged  in  Japan  is  simply  an 
open  secret  among  the  Chinese.  Society  regards  it 
with  a  sly  frown,  the  government  prohibits  and  pro- 
fesses to  discipline  it;  yet  vice  festers  in  every  city  of 
China  and  presents  some  shamefully  loathsome  aspects. 
The  traffic  in  young  girls,  especially  those  who  may  be 
afflicted  with  blindness,  is  the  usual  method  of  supplying 
brothels  with  their  inmates.  The  infamous  trade  of 
the  'pocket-mother'  and  her  colonies  of  native  slave 
girls,  and  its  relation  to  the  opium  habit  in  the  Straits 
Settlements  and  China,  have  been  recently  brought 
vividly  to  the  attention  of  the  British  public  by  Mrs. 
Andrew  and  Dr.  Kate  Bushnell.  In  the  everyday  con- 
versation of  the  Chinese,  especially  of  the  poorer 
classes,  expressions  so  exceptionally  vile  that  they  can- 
not be  hinted  at  are  only  too  well  known.  'An  English 
oath  is  a  winged  bullet ;  Chinese  abuse  is  a  ball  of  filth, ' 
says  the  author  of  'Chinese  Characteristics.'  The 
notorious  books  and  placards  of  Human  are  an  indica- 
tion of  the  interior  furnishing  of  the  Chinese  imagina- 
tion." (James  S.  Dennis,  "Christian  Missions  and 
Social  Progress,"  Vol.  I,  p.  88.) 

"The  Rev.  J.  Macgowan  (L.  M.  S.),  of  Amoy,  speaks 
of  the  'new  sentiment  that  permeates  every  Christian 
household.  The  result  is  seen  in  the  gradual  elevation 
of  woman,  and  the  different  position  she  holds  from  that 
which  obtained  when  I  first  arrived  in  China.  Certain 
rights  are  secured  to  her  that  heathen  women  dare  not 
claim.  Parents  may  not  marry  their  daughter  to  a 
heathen,  unless  it  is  impossible  to  get  a  Christian,  nor 
to  any  man  of  known  bad  character.  They  may  not 
dispose  of  her  to  be  a  concubine  or  second  wife,  neither 
can  they  compel  her  to  be  betrothed  to  one  to  whom 
she   herself,   for  moral    reasons,  has   an   antipathy.      If 


84  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

they  do  not  regard  the  welfare  of  their  girls  in  these 
matters,  the  church  steps  in  and  utters  its  voice  in  their 
behalf.  Again,  a  man  may  not  illtreat  his  wife,  or, 
except  for  one  offence,  divorce  her,  or  take  another 
wife,  -unless  he  is  prepared  to  come  under  the  discipline 
of  the  church.  Hitherto  woman  has  had  no  champion 
to  stand  by  in  her  defence.  Now  she  has,  and  one  that 
is  prepared  to  right  every  wrong  in  her  social  life.'  " 
(James  S.  Dennis,  "Christian  Missions  and  Social 
Progress,"  Vol.  II,  p.  195.) 

"In  the  'Statement  of  the  Nature,  Work,  and  Aims  of 
Protestant  Missions  in  China,'  prepared  for  presenta- 
tion to  the  Emperor,  it  is  declared  that  'Christians 
marry  but  one  wife,'  and  a  brief  exposition  of  the  dis- 
tinctively biblical  features  of  the  marriage  relation  is 
given.  The  example  of  the  happy  home  life  of  converts 
is  already  a  power  in  the  land.  That  progress  is  neces- 
sarily slow  can  be  readily  explained,  but  as  Christianity 
obtains  sway  over  the  conscience,  and  the  ideals  of  a 
higher  civilization  win  the  respect  of  that  conservative 
people  we  shall  find  the  Christian  code  inore  and  more 
widely  recognized  and  observed."  (James  S.  Dennis, 
"Christian  Missions  and  Social  Progress,"  Vol.  II, 
p.  222.) 

"  She  was  quietly  but  richly  dressed,  with  beautiful 
hair  ornaments,  rings  and  bracelets  of  massive  gold, 
set  with  pearls.  In  the  rooms  was  the  most  cunningly 
carved  blackwood  furniture,  inlaid  with  mother-of- 
pearl,  all  about  were  gorgeous  embroidered  hangings 
and  priceless  porcelains.  Everywhere  the  evidences  of 
wealth,  and  yet  there  was  an  undefined  something 
which  disturbed  one,  and  the  sadness  of  our  hostess' 
face  fairly  haunted  one's  thoughts.  What  was  it  and 
why?  She  had  a  son  and  daughter,  innumerable  serv- 
ants, all  the  comforts  and   luxuries  which  money  could 


THE    CHINESE    WOMAN  85 

supply.  At  this  point  tliere  came  into  the  reception 
room  three  young  women  accompanied  by  women 
servants.  'My  younger  sisters,'  said  Mrs.  Sung. 
Here  was  the  explanation,  for  these  were  the  'chieh' 
concubines  introduced  into  the  family  with  scant  cere- 
mony, bringing  in  their  train  worry  and  sorrow  for  the 
'chi' — wife.  There  is  only  one  wife.  She  who  rides  to 
her  unknown  bridegroom  and  home,  in  the  gay  red 
chair,  and  who  is  installed  in  her  new  home  with  cere- 
monies more  or  less  elaborate.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  woman  of  China  has  perhaps  as  high  a  legal, 
social  and  domestic  position  as  is  possible  outside  of 
Christian  culture  and  without  the  restraints  of  Chris- 
tianity, yet  she  labors  under  severe  disabilities,  and 
her  life  is  far  from  ideal,  she  herself  having  no  ideals. 

"Polygamy  with  its  inevitable  train  of  evils  is  tolera- 
ted by  Confucianism.  The  casual  observer  exchanging 
visits  and  friendly  calls  in  the  homes  of  the  rich  and 
well  to  do  sees  on  every  hand  material  comfort,  often 
lavish  expenditure,  and  outwardly  pleasant  and  friendly 
relations  between  the  women.  Let  there  be,  however, 
a  more  intimate  relation  established,  and  there  comes 
to  one's  knowledge  the  undercurrent  of  unhappiness, 
wrangling  and  envy  on  every  hand,  constant  quarrels  to 
be  settled.  It  is  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule  to 
find  peace  and  harmony.  'Aiyah!'  cried  the  Sung 
children  one  day  coming  in  with  their  books  for  school. 
'We  are  glad  to  be  away  to-day.  .Such  a  quarrel  and 
row,  our  mother  will  have  her  hands  full  trying  to  settle 
it  all,  and  be  ill  for  days.'  With  a  wise  wag  of  his 
head,  the  boy  said,  'Nothing  like  this  for  me  when  I 
have  a  house.  I  want  peace  and  quiet.'  Sad,  troubled 
little  woman,  her  face  rises  before  one  even  after  the 
lapse  of  years. 

"And  what  of  her  humbler  sister,  whose  lot  is  not 
mitigated  by  material  comfort?  The  well  to  do  of  any 
race   form   but  a   small    proportion  of   the  population; 


86  CHINA'S   NEW  DAT 

how  about  the  rank  and  file — the  shopkeeper's  wife, 
the  women,  untold  hundreds  of  them,  whose  lives  are 
spent  upon  boats,  she  whose  life  in  the  country  on  the 
farm  is  one  of  endless  toil  and  often  infinite  privation? 
From  her  cradle  (if  she  has  one)  to  her  grave  she  is 
at  a  distinct  disadvantage — her  inferiority  to  man  pre- 
supposed and  taught.  Woman  is  spoken  of  as  moulded 
of  faults,  credited  with  evil,  looked  upon  with  lofty 
disdain;  for  her,  education  though  not  forbidden  is 
practically  unknown  (even  in  this  day  of  reforms). 
From  the  hardships  and  evils  of  her  position  she  seeks 
refuge  in  suicide,  against  which  there  is  neither  teaching 
nor  remedy  in  Confucianism.  She  doggedly  accepts 
her  fate,  not  feeling  that  any  injustice  is  done  her  by 
being  deprived  of  the  right  of  choosing  her  partner  for 
life,  her  horizon  confined  to  the  domestic  circle.  Often 
the  removal  from  parents'  to  husband's  home  makes 
little  change.  More  frequently  a  terrible  one,  for  the 
power  accorded  to  a  husband  is  often  used  with  great 
tyranny  and  cruelty ;  and  with  her  husband  a  hard  task 
master,  her  mother-in-law  unsympathetic,  demanding 
of  her  alike  the  submission  of  a  child  and  labor  of  a 
slave,  is  it  any  wonder  that  many  a  young  wife,  being 
denied  a  son,  whose  birth  would  give  her  a  better  and 
more  honored  position  and  justify  her  own,  seeks  relief 
through  the  suicide's  path!  In  the  stagnation  of  super- 
stition and  ignorance,  there  is  no  light,  no  love,  no 
peace,  until  the  rays  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  shine 
in  dispelling  the  gloom."     (A  Missionary.) 


THE    CHINESE    WOMAN         87 


QUESTIONS    ON    CHAPTER    II 

1.  Make  a  list  of  the  books  prepared  by  the  Chinese 
for  the  instruction  of  girls. 

2.  Tell  something  of  the  change  that  has  recently 
taken  place  in  the  social  life  of  the  Chinese  woman, 
and  who  helped  to  bring  it  about. 

3.  Do  Chinese  families  eat  together?  Where  is 
woman's  realm.'' 

4.  Tell  something  about  foot-binding. 

5.  Tell  what  you  can  of  woman  in  literature;  in  art; 
in  government;  in  war. 

6.  What  important  meeting  was'  held  in  Canton? 
What  does  it  indicate  as  to  the  new  life? 

7.  Is  there  any  difference  between  the  theoretical  and 
the  real  position  of  the  Chinese  woman?  Tell  what 
you  can  of  concubinage.  What  does  it  mean  to  "eat 
vinegar  "  ? 

8.  Do  people  lack  the  power  to  suffer  because  they 
lack  social  position  or  wealth?  Tell  something  of  the 
slave  girl,  the  concubine,  the  great  mass  of  the  sub- 
merged. 

9.  Tell  the  story  of  "Our  Baby";  of  saving  the  life 
of  her  little  slave;  of  the  old  and  new  methods  of  get- 
ting engaged.     What  is  the  supreme  opportunity? 


CHAPTER   III 


AN    EDUCATIONAL    REVOLUTION 


(^iijjnese  Perhaps  there  never  was  a  people  who  had   a 

Veneration  more  profound  reverence  for  education  than  have 
for  Education,  the  Chinese.  The  highest  rank  has  been  ac- 
corded the  scholar  because  he  dealt  with  the 
things  of  the  mind.  Below  him  stood  the  farmer 
because  he  created  the  material  supplies  necessary 
to  nourish  life.  Next  stood  the  mechanic  because 
he  fashioned  and  built;  then  the  trader  who  did 
not  create  wealth  either  intellectual  or  material, 
and  lowest  of  all  the  soldier  whose  mission  was 
to  destroy. 

With    such    an  estimate    of    the    place    of    the 

scholar   it   is  easy   to   see   the  commanding  place 

which   education  must   hold    in  building  the  new 

China.      The   old   system   has   passed   away;  the 

new    is   in   process   of   creation.      The    destiny  of 

one  fourth  the   human   race   will   be   determined 

perhaps  for  a  millennium  by  the  character  of  that 

education. 

Relation  Be-         It  goes  without  Saying  that   the   new   must   be 

tween  Old        carefully    articulated     to    the   old.      All    that    is 

and  New.         worthy  in  the  old  must  be  conserved  with  jealous 

care.      On  this  as  on  a  bridge  the  rich   heritage 

of    the   Chinese   gathered    through   thousands   of 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION    89 

years  of  unbroken  history,  and  tradition  must  be 
carried  over  into  the  new  domain  of  thought. 

China  cannot  make  this  transition  unaided.  CKina's  Need 
Iler  scholars  are  too  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  of  Help, 
numbing  spirit  of  classicism.  She  must  rely 
upon  her  young  men  trained  in  Christian  lands 
and  upon  those  trained  in  the  Christian  schools 
located  within  the  empire.  The  large  number 
of  those  sent  abroad  by  the  government  will  be 
absorbed  in  government  and  diplomatic  service. 
It  is  chiefly  upon  the  missionaries  and  the 
students,  they  train  that  China  must  rely  to  make 
the  transition  which  is  full  of  tragic  peril,  but  so 
essential  to  her  fuller  life. 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  chapter,  first,  to  prepare  Aim  of 
for  an  appreciation  of  the  situation  by  a  brief  Chapter, 
study  of  the  system  of  intellectual  and  moral  dis- 
cipline comprised  in  the  classical  Chinese  educa- 
tion; second,  to  recount  the  steps  taken  by  the 
government  to  substitute  modern  education; 
third,  to  show  what  i^art  is  played  by  various 
Christian  churches  in  supplying  modern  schools, 
and  fourth,  to  indicate  some  of  the  lines  on  which 
successful  development  must  proceed  in  the 
future.  It  is  my  hope  that  students  of  this  chap- 
ter may  gain  a  fresh  conception  of  the  magnitude 
of  the  opportunity  now  offered  in  the  educational 
situation  in  China. 

Nothing  that  one  could  say  would  express  more  Beginaindg  o 
concisely  the  Chinese  idea  of  when  an  education  Old  System 
ought  to  begin  and  what  it  ought  to  be  than  a  few   of  Education 


90 


CHINA'S   NEW  DAT 


quotations  from  their  own  teachings.  In  the 
"Classic  for  Girls"  quoted  elsewhere  it  is  urged 
upon  every  mother  that  she  should, — 

Of  pre-natal  education 
Be  attentive  as  a  mother, 

For  tlie  influence  is  mutual 
Of  each  upon  the  other. 

Whether  walking,   standing,  sitting 
Or  reclining  have  a  rule, 

E'en  in  eating  and  in  drinking, 
Have  a  care  yourself  to  school.    ' 

Nursery.  I^   its    infancy    the    prattling    child    is    taught 

nursery  jingles  similar  to  our  own  Mother 
Goose,  and  one  cannot  long  be  with  mother  or 
nurse,  or  big  sister  taking  care  as  she  does  of 
the  smaller  children,  without  seeing  her  taking 
hold  of  its  fingers  or  toes  as  she  repeats, — 

This  little  cow  eats  grass, 
This  little  cow  eats  hay, 

This  little  cow  drinks  water, 
This  little  cow  runs  away. 

This  little  cow  does  nothing 
But  just  lie  down  all  day. 
We'll  whip  her. 

With   which  last   expression  she   playfully   slaps 
the  sole  of  the  little  one's  foot. 
Primers.  Boys   and   girls   are   allowed  to   play  together 

until  they  are  seven  or  eight  years  of  age  when 
the  boy  is  given  a  book  like  the  "Three  Charac- 
ter Classic,"  the  first  two  lines  of  which  tell  him 
that, — 

Men  one  and  all  in  infancy  are  virtuous  at  heart, 
Their   moral    tendencies    the  same,  their   practice   wide 
apart. 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION    91 

Not  one  word  of  which  he  understands.  Or  it 
may  be  he  is  given  the 

"Rules  of  Behavior"  for  brothers  and  sons,  Rules  of  Be- 

Teachings  of  ancient  and  virtuous  ones,  havior. 

First  be  jou  filial  and  brotherly,  then, 
Try  to  be  faithful  and  earnest  as  men. 

And  the  child  sits  upon  a  backless  bench  or  a 
high  stool  until  he  has  committed  it,  and  then 
recites  it  with  his  back  to  the  teacher. 

The  mother  has  charge  of  the  early  education 
of  the  children,  for  we  are  told  that, — 

For   her  son  she  calls  a   teache. 

And  she  places  him  in  school. 

Where  he  learns  to  write  short  ballads, 

Studies  how  to  be  discreet, 
Loves  his  teacher  and  rewards  him 

Both  with  money  and  with  meat. 

For  the  teacher  during  the  old  regime  was  ex- 
pected to  take  a  part  of  his  pay  in  rations  from 
his  pupils. 

In  addition  to  the  two  primers  mentioned  above   One  Ttou- 
the     boy     commits     the     "Thousand     Character  sandCharact 
Classic,"  a  primer  of  one  thousand  words,  no  two  Classic, 
of  which  arealike;  the  composition  of  which  was 
done  by  a  scholar  on   the  order  of  the  Emp-eror, 
in  a  single  night,  and  as  a  result  his  hair  turned 
gray.      He   also   commits   another  primer   called 
the   "Hundred    Surnames,"   none    of    which    he 
understands  as   they   are  written  in  the  classical 
language  which   is  to  the  spoken  language  what 
Latin  was  to   English    in  Wesley's   time.      After 


92  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

all  these  are  stored  away  in  his  tu  tzti^ — his  ab- 
domen,— for  a  Chinaman's  knowledge  is  all  car- 
ried in  that  receptacle,  rather  than  in  his  head, 
they  are  "explained"  by  the  teacher,  then  by  the 
boy,  and  from  these  primers  he  has  secured  the 
foundation  of  all  Chinese  history,  poetry,  philos- 
ophy, social  rules,  and  has  a  good  start  with  the 
language,  for  he  now  has  every  proper  family 
name  he  will  ever  meet  in  his  books,  and  has 
more  than  half  as  many  words  as  Shakespeare 
used  in  all  his  plays  and  poems. 

With   his  reading  he  learned   to  w^ite,  first  by 
ri  ing  placing    a    sheet   of    translucent   paper   over   the 

Reading  character  and  copying  it  with   a  brush   pen.      Up 

to  this  time  he  has  probably  only  had  a  milk 
name,  but  now  he  is  given  a  school  name,  and 
begins  his  study  in  earnest,  on  the  "Confucian 
Analects,"  "Great  Learning,"  "Doctrine  of  the 
Mean"  and  "Mencius, "  the  choicest  specimens 
as  they  suppose  of  Chinese  literature.  He  "com- 
mits" them,  then  "backs"  them,  and  goes  through 
all  the  processes  of  explaining  as  he  did  with  the 
primer,  while  at  the  saine  time  he  continues  his 
penmanship — or  brushmanship  whichever  you 
please  to  term  it.  They  are  taken  in  the  order 
given,  while  he  commits  the  second  the  teacher 
explains  the  first,  and  so  on^  giving  him  such  a 
constant  and  thorough  review,  that  during  all  his 
life,  if  he  has  done  his  work  well,  he  is  able  to 
quote  any  sentence  to  which  his  attention  is 
directed.       When    examination    day    comes     the 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION    93 

teacher  may  call  in  an  examiner  who  will  simply 
sfcart  any  sentence  he  happens  to  think  of,  which 
the  pupil  continues  until  he  is  called  down  by 
some  other  catchword.  At  any  time  he  may  be 
asked  to  explain  the  meaning  of  the  sentence  as 
given  in  the  commentary  or  by  the  teacher,  or  he 
may  be  asked  to  sing  some  snatch  of  poetry,  mak- 
ing his  own  tune  as  he  goes,  or  he  may  be  asked 
to  write  some  original  poem  or  essay. 

The  school  in  which  he  studies  may  be  a  room  The  School, 
in  his  father's  home,  some  particular  school  for 
boys,  a  public  school,  a  village  school  held  in  a 
temple,  or  a  city  school  to  which  he  has  been 
admitted  if  he  is  prepared  and  if  there  is  a  va- 
cancy. The  furniture  of  these  schools  is  prac- 
tically the  same  all  over  a  province, — high, 
plain,  square  or  oblong  tables,  at  which  he  is  re- 
quired to  sit  straight,  except  when  writing,  on 
hard  flat  stools  or  benches  without  any  depres- 
sions to  adapt  them  to  the  curves  of  the  body. 
On  these  he  sits  day  after  day,  month  after  month 
and  year  after  year,  for  there  were  no  weeks  in 
China  under  the  old  regime.  He  studies  aloud 
with  twenty  or  thirty  other  boys,  his  head  ^nd 
body  swaying  to  the  rhythm  of  the  book,  and 
shouting  it  out  in  a  sing-song  tone,  the  only  varia- 
tion of  which  is  the  pitch  or  loudness  of  his 
voice,  and  the  ear  of  the  teacher  becomes  so  well 
trained  that  he  is  able  to  detect  an  error  in  the 
naming  or  tone  of  a  character  no  matter  how 
many  boys  there  may  be. 


94 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 


Four  Books 
and  Five 

Classics. 


Poetry. 


Defect  of  His 
System. 


When  he  has  finished  the  Four  Books,  he  con- 
tinues, without  intermission,  with  the  Five 
Classics,  the  "Spring  and  Autumn,"  and  the 
books  of  "Poetry,"  "History,"  "Rites  and 
Changes,"  which  were  prepared  by  Confucius 
twenty-four  centuries  ago.  These  he  commits 
and  explains  as  he  did  the  others,  until — if  he  has 
done  his  work  well,  and  his  memory  is  faithful — 
his  entire  Bible,  as  well  as  the  whole  curriculum 
of  the  school  or  of  the  nation  is  at  his  tongue's 
end,  together  with  much  of  the  commentary  of 
each  book.' 

With  these  he  takes  up  the  study  of  poetry, 
for  China  had  her  Elizabethan  age  of  poetry  way 
back  in  the  eighth  century,  and  I  have  often  sat 
with  delight  and  listened  to  the  students  during 
examination  chanting  the  poems  of  Li  Tai-po  or 
Tu  Fu  or  Su  Tiing-p'o^  the  rhythm  of  which  is 
quite  equal  to  that  of  Pope  or  Byron,  Horace  or 
Anacreon.  All  the  choicest  bits — for  the  poems 
are  mostly  short — of  the  great  poets  of  the  past 
are  stored  away  in  the  same  receptacle  with  his 
primers  and  his  classics,  and  this  at  an  age  when 
it  will  be  almost  impossible  to  forget  them. 

But  now  comes  the  first  defect  of  his  old  sys- 
tem; he  has  continued  memorizing  until  he  is 
past  the  time  where  he  should  begin  to  reason,  is 
without  any  system  of  study  which  is  calculated 
to  develop  the  thinking  faculties,  and  has  arrived 
at  the  age  when  he  should  begin  the  study  of 
belles-lettres^    the  iven-changs  or  essays    of    the 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION    95 

ancient  masters  of  literary  style.  This  is  an  in- 
terminable task.  But  it  is  as  interesting  as  it  is 
interminable.  It  is  an  effort  on  the  part  of  these 
scholars  to  embody  the  greatest  number  of  refer- 
ences, to  the  most  interesting  incidents  of  the  past 
either  in  history,  poetry,  fiction  or  fairy  tale,  and 
in  the  choicest  language  and  fewest  words.  The 
student  pores  over  volume  after  volume  of  these 
essays,  and  commits  them  to  memory  in  the  hope 
of  absorbing  the  style  of  the  author  or  of  devel- 
oping a  style  of  his  own  that  is  as  good  or  better. 
It  is  thought  boiled  down  to  its  last  consistency 
in  words. 

Such  in  brief  is  the  course  of  study  through  A  Great 
which  the  student  had  to  pass,  before  he  was  al-  Field, 
lowed  to  browse  at  will  throughout  all  Chinese 
literature.  To  be  a  scholar  at  all  he  must  absorb 
the  history  of  China  with  special  biographical 
incidents  of  great  men,  and  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  particular  periods.  There  are  encyclopedias  of 
science,  a  compendium  of  the  most  brilliant  say- 
ings of  the  sages.  In  addition  to  the  orthodox 
philosophers — for  those  who  followed  Confucius 
were  orthodox  and  those  who  did  not  were  not 
— there  was  a  bevy  of  men  whose  works  are 
bound  up  in  the   "Twenty-four  Philosophers." 

The  student   was  expected  to  be  familiar  with    Lack  of 
all  the  scientific  books, — falsely  so  called, — books    Science, 
on  the  stars,  on  rocks,  on  flowers,  on  animals,  on 
laws  of  nature,  even  on  the  bogies  of  the -moun- 
tain and  of  the  sea — bogie  books  that  rival  Mun- 


96  CHINAS   NEW  DAT 

chausen  and  Gulliver.  But  though  the  Chinese 
have  spent  much  time  in  studying  all  subjects, 
being  without  a  system*  which  would  develop 
the  reasoning  and  inventive  powers,  they  have 
never  been  able  to  organize  their  thought  into 
anything  like  a  science  of  astronomy,  geology, 
botany,  zoology,  physics  or  chemistry,  or  any 
other  natural  or  applied  science.  Indeed  with 
all  their  body  full  of  knowledge  the  Chinese  have 
never  contributed  anything  toward  the  develop- 
ment of  science,  nor  studied  any  of  the  results  of 
scientific  thought  until  it  was  introduced  into 
China  by  the  missionaries  from  the  West.  Their 
ideas  of  nature  and  her  laws  are  not  only  simple, 
Fentf-sliui  ^^^^  often  very  absurd.      In   their   Feng-shui  they 

have  what  might  be  termed  a  system  of  natural 
science,  but  which  is  in  reality  a  system  of  geo- 
mancy.  It  originated  with  the  Taoist  alchemists 
of  pre-Christian  times,  and  undertakes  to  explain 
the  influence  of  the  occult  laws  of  nature  on 
human  life.  The  ordinary  student  is  hardly  ex- 
pected to  understand  them,  and  so  the  final  inter- 
pretation of  them  is  usually  left  to  the  soothsayer 
who  docs  it  for  a  consideration. 
No  Study  to  ^  have  already   indicated  that  there   is  nothing 

Develop  the       in  the  whole  course  of  study  of  the  old  system  of 
Thinking  Chinese  education  which    is  calculated   to   do  for 

Powers.  (},g  thinking   faculties  what   mathematics  and  the 

sciences  do  in  ours.  And  so  reason  and  inven- 
tion have  remained  dormant  in  the  Chinese 
mind.       They     have    never    invented    anything. 


# 


JiV  ED  UCA  TIONA  L  RE  VOL  UTION    9  7 

That  docs  not  mean  that  thcv  do  not  possess  most 
of  the  useful  arts  and  appliances.  They  do. 
They  have  practically  everything  that  is  necessary 
to  perform  all  the  daily  tasks  of  life.  They 
stumble  upon  things.  Th.c\  /is/' an  f;  fa  tzu — think  StumbleUpon 
of  a  way  to  do  things,  and  when  they  have  Things, 
thought  out  a  way  of  doing  it,  they  put  it  aside 
and  never  try  to  improve  it.  They  stumbled 
upon  gunpowder — no,  not  gunpowder,  but  fire- 
cracker powder,  for  they  never  made  a  gun  that 
was  worth  the  name — two  hundred  years  B.  C, 
in  their  alchemistic  experiments  searching  for 
the  elixir  of  life,  but  they  never  made  any  good 
gunpowder  until  they  came  in  contact  with  the 
West.  They  stumbled  upon  the  mariner's  com- 
pass eleven  hundred  years  B.  C,  but  they  have 
never  made  anything  but  a  chiJi  nan  chett^  a 
south-pointing  needle,  until  the  present  time. 
They  stumbled  upon  printing  five  hundred  years 
before  Guttenberg,  but  their  "Peking  Gazette, " 
theirnational  newspaper,  when  I  went  to  China  was 
the  oldest  and  worst  printed  newspaper  in  the 
world.  While  the  Chinese  are  noted  for  their 
commercial  astuteness,  and  are  among  the  best 
and  most  reliable  business  men  in  the  world,  ac- 
knowledged so  by  the  business  men  of  Europe, 
their  educational  system  has  never  enabled  them 
to  make  a  commercial  success  of  what  might  be 
considered  their  great  discoveries  or  inventions. 
They  therefore  needed  a  new  system ;  let  us  see 
as  we  proceed  whether  they  wanted  it. 


98  CHINAS  NEW  DAY 

Great  Col-  For  more  than  a  thousand  years  they  had  two 

leges.  great  educational    institutions   located    at   Peking 

— the  Kiio  Tzii  Chie7i^  or  College  for  the  Sons 
of  the  Ef?2pi7'e,  and  the  Ilan  Lin  Yuan^  or 
Forest  of  Pencils.  These  were,  however,  with- 
out any  of  the  characteristics  of  what  with  us  go 
to  make  up  a  college.  No  teachers,  no  pupils, 
no  dormitories,  no  apparatus, — nothing  but  a 
building  or  two  and  a  library.  The  former  is  a 
square  building,  surrounded  by  a-  row  of  sheds 
under  which  are  the  Four  Books  and  Five 
Classics,  carved  on  stone  tablets,  which  remind 
one  of  a  cemetery.  This  is  in  close  proximity  to 
the  Confucian  temple,  in  the  front  court  of  which 
are  more  tombstones  on  which  are  carved  the 
names  of  every  graduate  of  the  third  degree  for 
the  past  eight  hundred  years. 
Old  Exami-  This  brings  US  to  the  old  examination  system  of 

nation  China,     which    was    the    fruit   of   four   thousand 

ys  em.  years  of  study  and   experience,  for   it  began  with 

the   Sage  Emperor  Shun  (2200  B.-  C),  who  es- 
tablished the  custom  of  examining   his  army  offi- 
cers every  third  year,  "emphasizing  the  able  and 
promoting  the  worthy." 
Degrees.  They  had   five  degrees   which  they  might  re- 

ceive by  passing  corresponding  examinations: 
1,  hsints^  ai\  2,  chujeit\  3,  cJiin  shih\  4:^haji  lin; 
5,  chuang yuan.  The  examinations  for  the  hsin 
ts' at  were  held  in  the  county  seat,  conducted  by 
a  chancellor  who  has  educational  supervision 
over  a  province.      There  would   gather  from  one 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION    99 

to  two  thousand  competitors,  from  the  boy  in  his 
teens  to  the  old  man  in  his  dotage,  from  which 
number  only  fifty  to  one  hundred  would  receive 
the  degree  of  budding  genius.  Once  in  three 
years  the  successful  candidates  were  examined  in 
the  provincial  capital,  when  ten  thousand  more 
or  less,  shut  themselves  up  in  little  cells,  three 
times  of  three  days  each,  to  prepare  compositions 
in  prose  or  verse,  from  whom  one  in  a  hundred 
might  be  given  the  degree  of  promoted  scholar. 
The  following  year  he  might  enter  the  triennial 
examination  in  Peking,  with  fifteen  thousand 
others,  where  three  in  a  hundred  were  allowed  to 
pass,  and  were  considered  ready  for  office. 
Thrice  he  had  contested  with  his  peers,  and  thrice 
he  had  been  a  picked  man  of  picked  men.  The 
three  hundred  or  more  who  came  out  successful 
in  the  last  contest  might  enter  the  examination  for 
the  han  lin^  or  membership  in  the  Imperial 
Academy,  from  the  successful  competitors  of 
which  were  chosen  the  chancellors,  poet-laureates, 
imperial  historians,  or  other  occupants  of  im- 
portant positions.  Again  once  in  thi-ee  years 
these  han  liiis  were  allowed  to  compete  in  an 
examination  in  the  presence  of  the  Emperor,  and 
the  one  putting  in  the  best  paper  was  given  the 
degree  of  chuang- yuan,  a  picked  man  of  picked 
men  sorted  over  five  times,  a  flower  which 
bloomed  but  once  in  three  years  in  an  empire  of 
four  hundred  million  of  people.  To  induce  them 
to  give  up  such  a  system  of  education  as  that  re- 
quired a  tremendous  force. 


100 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 


Protestantism 
Opens  the 
Breach. 


The  Cry  of 
the  Empty 
Stomach. 


Overtaxa- 
tion. 


For  ninety  years  the  Protestant  missionaries 
had  been  working  in  China;  during  the  last  forty 
or  fifty  of  these  years  they  had  done  much  in  educa- 
tional work.  They  had  made  some  impression 
upon  the  people,  and  a  little  upon  the  goy,ernment, 
but  it  was  not  until  Kuang  Hsii  came  to  the  throne, 
and  China  began  to  be  mixed  up  with  other 
governments  in  a  political  way  that  she  began  to 
think  of  making  any  changes  in  her  system  of 
education. 

The  method  of  Kuang  Hsii's  development  we 
have  given  in  another  chapter  and  it  will  not  be 
necessary  to  repeat  it  here.  A  Japanese  writer 
in  the  "Review  of  Reviews,"  gives  among  other 
causes  of  the  present  reform  "the  cry  of  the 
empty  stomach."  He  says  that  the  Chinese  know 
that  they  have  not  wasted  their  gray  lives  in  idle- 
ness. They  have  always  worked  in  the  years 
past;  they  are  willing  to  work  in  the  years  to 
come.  Their  soil  is  rich  and  kind.  Though 
flood  and  drought  have  sometimes  come,  had  they 
been  allowed  to  keep  the  fruit  of  their  toil,  they 
would  not  need  to  trouble  either  the  yamen  or 
the  altars  of  their  gods  or  ancestors.  They  are 
starving  to-day,  and  when  one  of  the  officials 
was  appealed  to  about  the  establishment  of  hospi- 
tals to  relieve  their  suffering,  and  to  distribute 
food  to  the  hungry,  he  said,  "Let  them  die,  we 
have  too  many  people  anyhow." 

The  people  during  the  old  regime  were  over- 
taxed.     They    were    squeezed    by    the    officials 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  101 

whenever  they  went  to  the  yamen  in  a  lawsuit, 
or  whenever  either  through  fault,  or  through  no 
fault  of  their  own  they  could  be  dragged  to  the 
yamen.  They  began  to  learn  of  the  prosperity  of 
Western  lands  and  to  inquire  the  reason  therefor. 
They  answered  in  their  own  hearts  that  it  was 
Western  science  and  Western  government,  all  of 
which  depended  more  or  less  on  Western  educa- 
tional methods,  and  when  Kuang  Hsii  took  up  the 
study  of  English,  as  he  did,  before  he  began  is- 
suing his  reform  edicts,  it  v/as  noised  thJoughout 
the  empire,  and  tl^e  mission  schools  were  too 
small  to  accommodate  the  students  that  sought 
admission.  When  it  became  Vrtow.n  Ihat  Kiiang 
Hsii  was  favorable  to  the  Chrisciaxi  faith,  from 
the  eunuchs  in  the  pfj?ce  to  the  student  in  the 
remotest  corner  of  the  tmrjive,  people  Vi^nted  ^o 
know  more  about  this  doctrmt.  Likev/ise  when 
the  Empress  Dowager  dethroned  His  Majesty, 
everyone  turned  anti-foreign  once  more,  and  even 
the  children  on  the  street  reverted  to  their  habit  of 
calling  us  "foreign  devils."  The  j^ulse  of  the 
nation  changed  with  the  pulse  of  the  palace.  We 
could  feel  the  pulse,  as  some  one  said,  but  we 
could  not  count  it. 

The   whole   object  of  the  young   Emperor  was   The  Object  of 
to    make    China    strong.       She    was    weak.      He   the  Emperor. 
knew  she  was  weak,  as  the  world   counted  weak- 
ness, for  just  at  that  time   Japan  and   Germany, 
Russia   and   France,  were   anxious   for  a  slice  of 
her  territory.      They  had  discussed    her  division, 


102  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

they  each  had  their  sphere  of  influence,  and  it 
only  required  some  small  explosion  to  ignite  the 
powder  mill  which  would  reduce  China  to  a 
multitude  of  remains  scattered  among  the  nations 
of  Europe. 
Edict  Order-  ^"^^  ^^*^  summer  of  1898  he  issued  an  edict  to  the 
ing  Practical  effect  that  "Our  scholars  are  now  without  solid 
Education.  and  practical  education;  our  artisans  are  without 
scientific  instructors;  when  compared  with  other 
countries"  .(Germany,  Russia,  England  and 
France  vvho  had  just. taken  Chiao  Chou,  Port 
Arthur,  Dalne,  Wei  Hai  Wei  and  Kuang  Chou 
Wan)  "we  soon  see  how  weak  we  are.  Does 
anyone  think  that  our- troops  are  as  well  drilled 
or  as  well  led  as  t/iose  of  foreign  armies  ;  or  that 
vve  can  successfully  stand  against  any  of  them?" 
(That  is  the  crux  of  the  change.)  "Changes  must 
be  made  to  accord  with  the  necessities  of  the 
times.  .  .  .  Keeping  in  mind  the  morals  of  the 
sages  and  wise  men,  we  must  make  them  the 
basis  on  which  to  build  newer  and  better  struc- 
tures. We  must  substitute  modern  arms  and 
Western  organization  for  our  old  regime;  we 
must  select  our  military  officers  according  to 
Western  methods  of  military  organization;  we 
must  establish  elementary  and  high  schools,  col- 
leges and  universities,  in  accordance  with  those 
of  foreign  countries;  we  must  abolish  the  we^z- 
chang^  (literary  essay)  and  obtain  a  knowledge  of 
ancient  and  modern  world  history  and  a  right 
conception   of    the  present    day   state   of  affairs, 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  103 

with  special  reference  to  the  governments  and 
institutions  of  the  countries  of  the  five  great  con- 
tinents; and  we  must  understand  their  arts  and 
sciences." 

The  effect  of  this  edict  was  to  bring  hundreds  of  Large  Young 
thousands  of  the  young  men  who  aspired  to  office  Following, 
under  the  new  regime,  to  put  aside  the  classics 
and  the  tomes  of  literature  and  poetry,  the  wagon 
loads  of  history,  and  to  unite  in  establishing  re- 
form clubs  in  many  of  the  provincial  capitals, 
prefectural  cities  and  open  ports.  Book  depots 
were  opened  for  the  sale  of  the  same  kind  of  lit- 
erature as  that  studied  by  His  Majesty,  maga- 
zines and  newspapers  were  issued  and  circulated 
in  great  numbers,  lectures  were  delivered  in 
great  halls  to  concourses  of  young  men,  libraries 
were  established  in  convenient  localities,  and 
students  flocked  to  the  mission  schools,  ready  to 
study  anything  the  course  contained,  whether 
literary,  scientific  or  religious.  We  had  tele- 
grams at  Peking  University  from  all  over  the 
empire  saying,  "Reserve  a  place  for  me,  I  am 
sending  tuition  by  letter."  Even  Christians 
and  pastors  were  invited  into  the  palace  by  the 
eunuchs  to  dine  with  and  instruct  them. 

On  June  11,  1898,  the  Emperor  issued  an  edict  Edict  Order- 
ordering    a    great    central     university    to   be   es-   ing  Univer- 
tablished  in  Peking,  the  funds  for  which  were  to  "*y 
be    provided    by    the    government,    the    closing 
words  of  which  were:  "We    hope   that   all   will 
take  advantage  of  the  opportunities    for   modern 


104  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

education  thus  open  to  them,  that  in  time  we  may 
have  many  competent  helpers  in  the  great  work 
of  putting  our  country  on  a  level  with  the  strong- 
est of  the  Western  Powers."  Observe  the  animus 
of  the  edict,  as  well  as  that  of  the  earlier  date. 
It  was  to  reconstruct  the  army  and  make  China 
strong,  enabling  her  to  withstand  the  aggressions 
of  the  European  powers  which  were  at  that  time 
ready  to  divide  her  up  among  themselves,  for  it 
was  the  object  of  Europe,  until  John  Hay  stepjoed 
in  to  prevent  it,  to  divide  Asia  up  among  Russia, 
Germany,  England,  France  and  Japan,  as  they 
had  sliced  up  the  continent  of  Africa.  On  the 
26th  of  the  same  month  he  censured  the  princes 
and  ministers  who  were  lax  in  reporting  upon 
the  above  edict,  and  ordered  them  to  do  so  at 
once  without  further  delay. 
Edict  Order-  On  July  10th  the  Emperor  ordered  that 
ing  Schools  ''schools  and  colleges  be  established  in  all  the 
and  Colleges,  provincial  capitals,  prefectural,  departmental  and 
district  cities,"  and  allowed  the  viceroys  and 
governors  but  two  months  to  "report  upon  the 
number  of  colleges  and  free  schools  within  their 
provinces,"  saying  that  "all  must  be  changed 
into  schools  for  the  practical  teaching  of  Chinese 
literature  and  Western  learning,  and  become 
feeders  to  the  Peking  Imperial  University."  He 
ordered  further  that  "all  memorial  and  other 
temples  erected  by  the  people,  and  not  recorded 
in  the  list  of  the  Board  of  Rites  and  of  Sacrificial 
Worship,  are  to   be  turned    into  schools  and  col- 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  105 

leges  for  the  propagation  of  Western  learning, " — 
a  thought  which  was  quite  in  harmony  with  that 
advocated  by  Chang  Chih-tung,  but  not  with  the 
sentiment  of  the  people.  The  funds  fof  estab- 
lishing these  schools  and  carrying  on  this  work 
were  to  be  provided  by  the  China  Merchants' 
Steamship  Company,  the  Telegraph  Administra- 
tion and  the  great  lottery  in  Canton. 

On  August  4th  he  ordered  that  numerous  pre-  Preparatory 
paratory  schools  be  established  in  Peking  as  ScKoola. 
feeders  for  the  Univeristy;  and  on  the  9th  ap- 
pointed Dr.  VV.  A.  P.  Martin  as  head  of  the 
faculty,  and  approved  the  site  suggested  by  Sun 
Chia-nai,  the  president.  On  the  16th  he  au- 
thorized the  establishment  of  a  bureau  for  "trans- 
lating into  Chinese,  Western  works  on  science, 
arts  and  literature,  and  text-books  for  use  in  the 
schools  and  colleges,"  and  on  the  19th  he 
abolished  the  Palace  Examinations  for  Han  Lin 
as  "useless,  superficial  and  obsolete,"  thus  sev- 
ering the  last  cord  that  bound  them  to  the  old 
regime.  While  this  was  happening  in  Peking 
there  was  a  Han  Lin  spending  the  summer  with 
me  in  my  home  at  the  seashore.  When  these 
edicts  of  such  moment  began  to  come  out  in  such 
rapid  succession,  he  said  to  me  each  day  as  he 
read  the  "Peking  Gazette,  "  "If  the  Emperor  con- 
tinues that  kind  of  reform  we  will  end  up  with  a 
revolution."  Again  after  several  edicts  had  ap- 
peared he  came  to  me  in  great  excitement  and 
said,  "I  must  go  to  Peking.      There  is  going  to 


106 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 


Empress 
Dowager  at 
Hills. 


Coup  d'etat. 


Reforms 
Counter- 
manded. 


be  trouble;"  and  when  the  trouble  came  in  1900 
he  buried  my  copies  of  Gray's  "Anatomy"  and 
Scripture's  "Thinking,  Feeling  and  Doing," 
wrapped  up  in  oil  cloth,  in  his  own  yard,  that 
the  Boxers  might  not  find  them  in  his^  home. 
They  remain  in  the  Peking  University  library 
to-day — half-rotten  relics  of  the  summer  of  1900. 

While  the  Emperor  was  issuing  these  reform 
edicts,  the  Empress  Dowager  was  spending  the 
hot  months  quietly  resting  at  the  summer  palace 
at  the  hills  fifteen  miles  west  of  Peking,  offering 
neither  advice,  objection  nor  hindrance,  allowing 
him  a  free  hand  in  his  government.  But  when 
his  reforms  became  too  radical,  and  promised  to 
bring  about  a  revolution,  at  the  earnest  request 
of  two  delegations  of  ofiicials  and  princes,  whom 
he  had  dismissed  or  ordered  to  be  assassinated, 
she  felt  compelled  to  once  more  take  the  throne, 
thus  placing  herself  at  the  head  of  the  govern- 
ment for  a  third  time,  and  for  the  most  part  in 
the  hands  of  the  Conservative  party,  though  she 
always  kept  all  the  great  officials  of  both  parties 
closely  allied  with  her  government. 

All  his  reforms  except  those  of  the  Peking 
University,  the  provincial,  prefectural,  depart- 
mental and  district  schools,  were  for  the  time 
countermanded, — all  those  that  would  anger  the 
people, — and  the  Boxers  were  allowed  to'test  their 
strength  with  the  allied  Powers.  After  their 
failure,  and  while  she  was  still  in  Hsianfu,  on 
August  29,   1901,   the   Empress  Dowager  issued 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  107 

an  edict  ordering  "the  abolition  of  essays  on  the 
Chinese  Classics  in  examinations  for  literary 
degrees,  and  substituting  therefor  essays  and 
articles  on  some  phase  of  modern  affairs,  Western 
laws  or  political  economy.  This  same  procedure 
is  to  be  followed  in  examination  of  candidates 
for  office," — an  edict  which  was  quite  in  harmony 
with  that  sent  out  by  the  Emperor  three  years 
before;  indeed  a  careful  examination  of  the 
Empress  Dowager's  edicts  of  this  time  will  re- 
veal the  fact  that  they  are  only  a  reissuing  of 
those  promulgated  by  Kuang  Hsii  in  1898. 

In  this  same  edict  she  said:  ''The  old  methods 
of  gaining  military  degrees  by  trial  of  strength, 
by  stone  weights,  agility  with  the  sword,  marks- 
manship with  the  bow  on  foot  or  on  horseback 
(for  they  rode  a  horse  along  a  trench  and  shot 
arrows  at  a  roll  or  rolls  of  matting)  are  of  no  use 
to  men  in  the  army  when  strategy  and  military 
science  are  the  sine  qua  non  to  office,  and  hence 
should  be  done  away  with  forever." 

September  12,  1901,  she   issued   another  edict  Reforms  Be- 
commanding  "all   colleges    in   the  empire  to   be  ^"^  ^y 
turned    into   schools   of   Western   learning;    each      °^^i^^- 
provincial  capital  to  have  a  university  like  that 
in   Peking,  whilst   all    the    schools    in    the    pre- 
fectures and  districts   are  to  be  schools  and   col- 
leges of  the  second  or  third  class,"  a  sort  of  state 
university  system. 

On  September  17th  she  ordered  "the   viceroys   Young  Men 
and  governors  of  other  provinces  to  follow  the  Sent  Abroad. 


108  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

example  of  Lin  Kun-yi  of  Liangkiang,  Chang 
Chih-tung  of  Hukuang,  and  Knei  Chun  of 
Szechuan,  in  sending  men  of  scholastic  promise 
abroad  to  study  any  branch  of  Western  science  or 
art  best  suited  to  their  tastes,  that  in  time  they 
may  return  to  China  and  place  the  fruits  of  their 
knowledge  at  the  service  of  the  empire,"  an  edict 
which  smacks  very  much  of  those  of  Kuang  Hsii. 
What  now  was  the  result? 
Shansi  Uni-  The  Imperial    College  in   Shansi    was    opened 

versity.  with  three  hundred  students,  all  of  whom  had  the 

Chinese    chu  Jen    or    B.A.    degree.      It     had    a 
Chinese  and  a  foreign  department,  and   after  the 
students    had    completed    the  first,  they  were   al- 
lowed to  pass  on   to   the   second,  which    had    six 
foreign     professors     who    held      diplomas    from 
Western   colleges   or  universities,  and    a  staff   of 
six  translators   of   Western  university  text-books 
into  Chinese,  superintended  by  a  foreigner. 
Ten  Provinces        I"  1901-1902  ten  provinces  opened  colleges  for 
Open  Col-        which  they  raised  more   than   $400,000,     At  the 
'eges.  request  of  Governor  Yuan  Shi  ki  of  Shantung, 

Dr.  W.  M.  Hayes  resigned  the  presidency  of  the 
Presbyterian  College  at  Teng-chou-fu,  a  college 
which  has  turned  out  a  large  number  of  educated 
young  men  into  governmental  and  church  service, 
and  accepted  the  presidency  of  the  new  govern- 
ment college  at  the  provincial  capital.  He  drew 
up  a  working  plan  of  grammar  and  high  schools 
for  the  province,  which  were  to  be  feeders  for  the 
provincial  college.      This  was   approved  by   the 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  109 

Governor,  embodied  in  a  memorial  to  the  Throne, 
copies  of  which  the  Empress  Dowager  sent  to 
the  governors  and  viceroys  of  all  the  provinces, 
declaring  it  to  be  a  law,  and  ordering  "the  vice- 
roys, governors  and  literary  chancellors  to  see  that 
it  was  obeyed."  Dr.  Hayes  and  Yuan  vShi  ki 
soon  split  upon  a  regulation  which  the  Governor 
thought  it  best  to  introduce  to  the  effect  "that 
the  Chinese  professors  shall,  on  the  first  and  fif- 
teenth of  each  month,  conduct  their  classes  in 
reverential  sacrifice  to  the  most  Holy  Teacher 
Confucius,  and  to  all  the  former  worthies  and 
scholars  of  the  provinces."  Dr.  Hayes  and  his 
Christian  teachers  withdrew;  but  it  was  not  long 
until  those  who  professed  Christianity  were  ex- 
cused from  this  rite,  while  the  Christian  Chinese 
physicians  who  taught  in  the  Peking  Imperial 
University  were  allowed  to  dispense  with  the 
queue  and  wear  foreign  clothes  as  they  had  done 
while  studying  in  America,  because  it  was  more 
convenient  and  sanitary. 

When    Governor   Yuan   was   made   viceroy   of  d^.  Tenney 
Chihli,  he  requested   another  missionary,  Dr.  C.    Establishes 
D.  Tenney,  to  draw  up  and   put  into  operation  a   ^^^^'^  ScKoc 
similar  schedule   for  the  metropolitan  province.      ^^  ^"' 
This   was   done   on  a  very  much   enlarged  scale, 
as  was  also  the  case    in  many   of  the  other  prov- 
inces.     In  1909  "the  Chihli    pi-ovince   alone   has 
nine  thousand   schools,  all   of  which   are  aiming 
at  Western  education,  while   in  the  emj^ire  as  a 
whole  there  are  not  less  than  thirty  to  forty  thou- 


no  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

sand  schools,  colleges  and  universities,  repre- 
senting some  of  the  educational  changes  that  have 
taken  place  in  China  during  the  past  eight 
years."  During  the  three  years  that  have  fol- 
lowed since  the  above  statement  was  made  by 
Bishop  Bashford,  other  schools  have  been  opened, 
and  many  of  the  former  have  been  closed,  and  the 
government  has  offered  to  allow  us  to  put  a 
Christian  teacher  in  any  one  of  these  schools,  as 
we  have  said  elsewhere,  if  we  will  pay  $10  to  $20 
a  year  toward  his  salary.  Now  is  the  time  for 
the  Christian  Church  to  rally  to  the  support  of  its 
own  schools,  increase  their  efficiency,  and  send 
out  more  graduates  who  can  take  positions  in 
their  government  institutions. 
Girls'  On  one  occasion  when  Mrs.  Headland   was    in 

Schools.  the  palace  the  Empress  Dowager  said  to  her,  "I 

understand    that    in  your   honorable   country  the 
girls  study  the  same  as  the  boys." 

"They  do,"  said  Mrs.  Headland.      "They  go 
to  the  same  schools  and  study  the  same  books." 

"I    wish    our    girls    could    study,"  exclaimed 
Her  Majesty. 

"Would   it  not  be  possible  to  open  schools  for 
the  instruction  of  girls?"   asked  her  visitor. 

"No,"  she   answered,  "our   taxes   are  now  so 
heavy  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  add  another 
such  as  that  would  necessitate  upon  the  people." 
Young  Ladies       Mrs.    Headland   knew   that   among   her  young 
Studying.  Chinese   friends   there  were  many  who  were   de- 

voting a  large  part  of  their  time  to  study,  in  pre- 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  111 

paration  for  the  new  day  that  most  of  them  felt 
assured  was  soon  coming  to  China,  and  so  she 
asked,  "If  Your  Majesty  should  issue  an  edict 
approving  of  the  education  of  girls  might  there 
not  be  many  benevolently  disposed  people  in  your 
honorable  country  who  would  open  schools  for 
their  instruction?" 

In  less  than  two  weeks'  time  the  Empress  Dowager  Is- 
Dowager  issued  such  an  edict  and  forthwith  girls'  sues  Edict, 
schools  began  to  spring  up  all  over  the  empire, 
and  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  when  Her  Majesty 
sent  the  commission,  headed  by  Duke  Tse  and 
accompanied  by  Tai  Hung-Tzu  and  Tuan  Fang, 
around  the  world  in  1906  to  inquire  as  to  the 
best  kind  of  a  constitution  to  give  to  the  people, 
the  members  of  this  commission  told  us  that: — 

"The  Empress  Dowager  charged  us  to  inquire   Commission 
especially    into    the    education    of     girls    in    the   to  Inquire 
United  States,  since  she  hopes  on  our  return  to  be  About  Girls. 

C    1         1 

able  to  found   a  school    for  the  education  of  the     '^^'"'^• 
daughters  of  the  princes." 

Before  that  commission  could  return,  however, 
many  of  the  princes  had  solved  that  problem  for 
themselves  by  founding  girls'  schools  in  their 
own  palaces. 

One   day  a  message  came   to   one   of  the   mis-   ^  Mongol 
sionaries  from  the  Princess  Ka-la-chin,  the  sister  School  for 
of   Prince    Su,    who  was   married   to   a   Mongol   Girls, 
prince.      The  physician  took  her  medical  outfit  at 
once,    and  started  to  the   home   of    the    princess 
thinking    that    some    one    was    ill.       When    she 


112  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

arrived  the  princess  met  her  with  a  smile  on  her 
face,  saying,  "No  one  is  ill,  I  just  wanted  to  talk 
to  you  about  girls'  schools.  I  am  thinking  of 
starting  one  in  our  palace  in  Mongolia,  and  1 
want  to  learn  all  about  them  before  I  return." 
Princess  Vis-  She  was  invited  to  visit  the  girls'  schools  in 
Its  Christian      Peking    where  she   was  assured   that   she   would 

Shi 
^  °°  ^'  learn  more  in  an  hour  than  she  would  by  talking 

about   them   for  a  much    longer   time.      This  she 

did.       She    visited    many    mission    schools,    and 

before  she  returned  she  was  prepared  to  open  her 

school  in  Mongolia. 

Chinese  Lady         She  invited   one  of    our  Chuaiig  I'dart  friend's 

Teaches  in         daughters   to  go  with   her   to  teach    the    Chinese 

ongo  Classics,    employed    a    young     Japanese    lady   to 

teach    the  foreign  studies,  and    Miss  Hsii  told    us 

the  next   year  when  she  returned    that  after   their 

day's  work  they  would  all   don  men's  garb  (a  not 

uncommon    thing   for    Chinese  girls    to    do  when 

they  go  upon  the  street)  and   go   for  a   horseback 

ride  across  the  plains. 

Mongol  Girls        But  the  Mongol    girls  were  not   accustomed   to 

getting  up  and  being  in  school  at  nine  o'clock  in 

the  morning.      The    princess    might   have   sent   a 

servant  around   the  village   to  wake  them  up  and 

call    them   to   their  study.      She    was    afraid    this 

would    not    be   effective,     and   so   she   asked   the 

prince  to  get  on  his  horse,  ride  about  the  village, 

and    impress   upon   the   girls    the    importance  of 

being  in  school   at  nine  o'clock,  as  she  proposed 

to    have    her  school    carried   on    after    the    most 


SI 


lO'W^. 


Graduating  Class,  Girls'  College,  Foochow 

Woman's  Board  of  Missions 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  113 

approved  fashion  of  the  West.  The  next  summer 
when  she  came  down  to  Peking  she  brought  with 
her  ahnost  a  score  of  Mongolian  girls  in  order 
that  they  might  see  the  capital  and  visit  the 
girls'  schools. 

One  day  when  one  of  the  missionaries  was  Princess  Su's 
calling  at  the  palace  of  Prince  Su,  the  princess  School, 
invited  her  to  go  in  and  see  their  school.  It  was 
in  an  attractive  room,  and  was  for  the  members 
of  her  own  family.  The  curriculum  was  care- 
fully written  out,  and  consisted  of  reading,  writ- 
ing the  Chinese  characters,  arithmetic,  music, 
drawing,  embroidery  and  kindred  subjects.  After 
she  had  watched  them  at  this  work  for  some  time 
under  the  Japanese  lady  teacher,  the  prince  came 
in. 

"Please  show  us  your  calisthenics,"  he  said.       International 
Their    books    were   put    away,  and    arranging  Cahsthemc 
themselves    in    order,    they    went    through    their      ^^'■"*^- 
exercises  to  the  tune  of, — 

Ho  my  comrades  see  the  signal 
Waving  in  the  sky, 

played  on  an  American  organ  by  a  Japanese 
teacher,  who  had  been  educated  in  a  mission 
school. 

But  these  girls'  schools  were  not  confined  to 
Peking.  No  sooner  had  the  edict  left  the  palace 
than  girls'  schools  began  to  spring  up  all  over 
the  empire.  A  lady  in  Honan  opened  a  school, 
and  in  the  enthusiasm  of  a  new  idea  she  easily 
raised  the  money  for  its  support  for  the  first  year. 


114 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 


A  Cliinese 
Heroine. 


A  Chinese 
Martyr. 


The  second  year  it  was  not  so  easy.  She  sent 
letters  to  the  officials,  but  they  did  not  respond. 
She  then  cut  a  great  gash  in  her  arm,  and  sat 
out  in  a  public  place  at  the  temple  fair  to  attract 
the  attention  and  solicit  the  aid  of  the  passers- 
by.  This  also  failed  to  secure  the  amount 
needed.  She  then  wrote  a  letter  to  the  officials 
saying:  "I  have  already  asked  you  for  help  for 
the  support  of  my  girls'  school,  but  you  have 
turned  a  deaf  ear  to  my  appeal.  When  this  letter 
reaches  you  I  shall  be  a  corpse.  I  proj^ose  to 
take  my  life  and  try  in  this  way  to  impress  upon 
the  people  the  importance  of  the  education  of 
girls." 

She  took  her  own  life,  and  at  once  memorial 
services  began  to  be  held  all  over  the  empire. 
One  of  these  was  held  in  connection  with  the 
school  established  in  the  home  of  another  sister 
of  Prince  Su — the  Fourth  Princess.  One  day  I 
was  going  down  Liu  Li  Chang,  the  book  street 
of  Peking,  and  my  attention  was  called  to  a  great 
meeting  that  was  being  held  in  a  temple  there.  I 
inquired  as  to  its  meaning  and  was  told  that  it 
was  a  memorial  service  to  this  same  lady.  I  pur- 
chased a  ticket  and  went  in.  There  I  found  a 
great  mixed  audience  of  men  and  women,  a  most 
unusual  thing  for  China;  and  among  other 
features  of  the  entertainment  the  girls  from  the 
school  of  the  Fourth  Princess  came  out  upon  a 
rostrum,  recited  pieces,  and  went  through  their 
calisthenic  exercises  for  the  entertainment   of  the 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  115 

audience,    and    the     endowment     of    the    martyr 
school. 

Now  it  may  appear  to  my  readers  that  I  have 
put  the  cart  before  the  horse  in  describing  the 
governmental  changes  that  have  taken  place  in 
China,  before  saying  anything  about  the  educa- 
tional institutions  that  have  contribuLed  to  bring 
about  that  reform.  I  have  done  this  intentionally.  Is  This  Old 
and  for  this  reason.  I  have  given  an  educational  Educational 
system  that  has  prevailed  in  that  old  and  mighty  system  Ade- 
empire  for  fifteen  centuries.  I  have  tried  to  be  '^ 
faithful  in  my  description.  I  have  tried  to  show 
what  great  books  they  have  made,  though  I  shall 
have  more  to  say  on  that  subject  in  discussing 
their  literature.  I  have  tried  to  show  what  great 
educational  institutions  they  developed,  and  how 
faithful  the  students  were  in  storing  away  the 
accumulated  literary  gems  of  the  past  thirty  cen- 
turies. Perhaps  I  have  overdone  the  matter. 
Perhaps  there  are  those  who  will  say:  "If  the 
Chinese  have  all  this  great  literaiure,  if  they 
have  all  this  great  educational  system,  why  not 
leave  them  alone.''  They  are  satisfied  with  what 
they  have." 

Is  that  true?     Are   the    Chinese  satisfied   with 
what   they  have?     Was   their  educational    system 
good  enough   for  them?     Who   is  the  most  com- 
petent   to    decide    that    question?       Surely    the  The  Chinese 
Chinese  are  the   ones  to   decide,  and   they   have  People  An- 
decided.       The     Chinese    Government,    led    by  swer. 
Kuang  Hsii,  the  Empress  Dowager,  Chang  Chih- 


116 


CHINAS  NEW  DAY 


Missionary 
Origin  of 
Ne'w  Educa- 
tion. 


Close  Vie-w  of 

Christian 

Schools. 

London  Mis- 
sionary So- 
ciety. 


tung,  Yuan  Shi  ki  and  all  the  greatest  officials 
of  the  past  quarter  of  a  century,  say  that  that  old 
system  of  education  is  not  good  enough  for  them. 
They  have  given  it  up,  and  they  have  given  it 
up  forever. 

They  have  adopted  instead  the  very  system  that 
was  carried  to  China  by  the  missionaries,  that 
was  taught  to  the  people  by  the  missionaries,  that 
was  established  for  the  government  by  the  mis- 
sionaries,— the  system  that  was  developed  by  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  countries  and  among 
the  people  it  dominates.  Nothing  is  good 
enough  for  the  Chinese  but  the  best.  They  are  a 
great  people  without  the  gospel,  but  they  will  be 
a  mighty  people  when  they  have  accepted  the 
gospel  if  we  are  to  judge  from  the  examples  of 
those  who  sealed  their  testimony  by  their  death 
during  the  Boxer  uprising,  and  still  better  if  we 
are  to  judge  from  the  examples  of  those  all  over 
the  empire  at  the  present  time  who  are  sealing 
their  testimony  by  a  self-sacrificing  life. 

And  now  let  me  give  a  more  detailed  view  of 
the  forces  that  have  contributed  to  this  mighty 
intellectual  revolution. 

Let  us  begin  in  South  China,  for  there  is 
where  missions  first  began.  We  find  the  London 
missionary  with  such  men  as  Morrison,  and 
Milne,  and  Legge,  and  Edkins,  and  Chalmers, 
and  a  host  of  other  honored  men  who  translated 
the  Bible,  made  dictionaries,  wrote  hymns,  trans- 
lated the  Classics   into  English,  and  were  them- 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  117   , 

selves  great  enough  to  be  supported  by  the  East 
India  Company  for  their  work,  or  to  be  called 
back  from  China  to  England  to  take  a  place  as 
professor  in  one  or  the  other  of  her  two  largest 
universities.  It  was  these  men  who  by  their  lives 
and  their  work,  began  to  shed  the  dews  of  their 
intelligence,  their  teaching,  and  their  sympathy 
upon  this  great  unresponsive  people.  For  a  time 
they  felt  that  the  great  commission  was  simply  to 
go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature.  Then  they  discovered  that  Jesus 
Christ  also  ordered  his  disciples  to  go  and  teach 
all  nations,  and  they  began  to  open  schools. 

One  could  hardly  go  to  Canton  without  finding  Presbyteria 
there  that  great  Christian  college  which  stands  Work, 
like  an  arc  light  in  that  great  city.  An  institu- 
tion that  has  been  sending  young  men  out  as 
preachers,  as  teachers,  as  business  men,  as  Chris- 
tian statesmen.  Another  great  Presbyterian 
school  was  located  at  Teng-chou-fu,  where  Dr. 
Charles  W.  Mateer  and  his  noble  wife  worked 
side  by  side  for  so  many  years.  One  in  a  school 
for  boys,  and  the  other  near  by  in  a  school  for 
girls,  turned  out  young  men  and  women  who  es- 
tablished the  churches  that  were  opened  by  two 
such  patriarchs  as  John  L.  Nevius  and  Hunter 
Corbett.  The  same  church  furnished  W.  A.  P. 
Martin  to  the  Chinese  Government  to  open  its 
first  two  colleges,  and  President  Tenney,  as  I 
have  said  elsewhere,  to  found  the  first  provincial 
college  in  Shantung.    Oh!  yes,  if  you  are  a  Pres- 


.    118  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

byterian  you  may  be  proud  of  the  work  that 
these  men  and  a  hundred  others  have  done,  and  of 
the  noble  women  who  have  worked  by  their  side, 
in  their  girls'  schools  furnishing  wives — Chris- 
tian wives,  educated  wives,  women  who  |ire  able 
to  go  with  them  into  society,  and  converse  with 
them,  and  shall  I  add,  help  them? — nay,  I  would 
rather  say  do  the  same  kind  of  work  for  their 
sisters  that  the  men  are  doing  for  their  brothers. 
Many  of  these  Chinese  Christian  men  from  these 
Presbyterian  colleges  have  gone  out  to  become 
professors  in  Methodist,  Congregational,  Baptist 
and  governmental  imperial  colleges. 
Congrega-  Perhaps  you  are    a    Congregationalist.      If   so, 

tional  Col-        then    from    Foochow    to    Peking   you   have   been 
^^^"-  establishing  these  great  dynamos  of   intelligence, 

these  electric  light  plants  which  have  been  shed- 
ding a  glow  which  has  not  only  illuminated  the 
Orient,  but  has  shone  with  as  brilliant  a  light  in 
the  Occident.  Who  of  you  does  not  know  of 
your  girls'  college  in  Foochow,  of  Dr.  Sheffield 
the  head  of  the  North  China  College,  who  has 
been  sending  out  young  men  as  teachers,  as 
preachers,  as  martyrs?  Who  does  not  know 
Goodrich,  the  maker  of  dictionaries  and  trans- 
lator of  the  Bible,  and  Arthur  H.  Smith,  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  preachers  in  Chinese  that  has 
ever  gone  to  the  Orient?  Who  does  not  know 
Miss  Miner,  the  brilliant  author  of  "Two  Heroes 
of  Cathay"  and  "China's  Book  of  Martyrs,"  and 
the   head  of    your  woman's   college   in   Peking? 


AN  ED UCA  TIONAL  RE  VOL  UTION  1 1 9 

But  I  ought  not  to  mention  these  and  leave  un- 
named a  score  of  others  whom  you  know  as  well 
as  those  I  have  named.  Your  church  has  done  its 
share — its  full  share — of  the  preliminary  work 
that  brought  about  the  fall  of  an  old  empire  and 
the  establishment  of  a  stronger  and  more  stable 
one  in  its  place. 

Perhaps,  however,  you  are  a  Baptist.  Like  Baptist  In- 
all  the  others  that  I  have  mentioned  we  know  the  flu^nce. 
great  men  and  women  who  represent  you  on  the 
field  as  members  of  the  "Jesus  Church,"  better 
than  we  know  them  by  their  denominational 
name.  The  whole  region  south  of  the  great 
Yangtze  River  from  Hong  Kong  to  Szechuan, 
and  from  Ningpo  to  Hanyang  is  being  leavened 
by  your  influence. 

Every  Southern  Methodist  woman  is  proud  of  Southern 
the  girls'  schools  at  Nanking  and  Kiuchiang  and  Methodist 
the  splendid  Bible  training  schools  in  these  cities  ; 
of  the  large  kindergarten  and  girls'  school  at 
Foochow^,  and  the  new  woman's  college,  which 
this  winter  laid  the  corner  stone  of  its  first 
building ;  of  the  wonderful  McTiere  School, 
whose  pupils  are  equal  to  presenting  Shakespeare 
in  English. 

Or  perhaps  you  are  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Reformed 
Church  in  America.      If  so  then  think  of  Abeel   Church, 
and    Talmage    and    the   other   great   men   of  the 
Amoy  region,  who  have  been   calling   down   the 
dews  of   heaven   for  the  past  seventy  years  upon 
three  millions  of  Chinese  of  the  Fukien  Province. 


120 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 


Protestant 

Episcopal 

Church. 


Union  Effort. 


North  China 
Union. 


"To  the  Reformed  Church  God  gave  remarkable 
men  of  unbounded  faith,  deep  piety  and  marked 
ability,  to  found  its  mission  in  China.  To  look 
back  at  their  labors,  to  see  what  God  hath 
wrought,  is  to  hear  the  voice  of  our  Lord  and 
Master  calling  us  to  a  larger  faith  and  greater 
earnestness  in  hastening  the  completion  of  this 
great  work. ' ' 

Or  perhaps  you  are  a  churchman — English  or 
American.  Then  you  think  of  St.  John's  Uni- 
versity and  Boone  College  and  the  girls'  schools, 
St.  Hilda's  and  St.  Mary's,  with  their  hundreds 
of  bright  girls.  I  have  met  the  graduates  of 
these  schools  in  all  departments  of  business, 
social,  governmental  and  professional  life, — in 
small  numbers  it  is  true,  but  not  in  small 
influence. 

The  missionaries  in  China  have  awakened  to 
the  fact,  which  the  churches  at  home  have  not 
yet  realized,  that  they  can  do  more  work  and 
better  work,  if  they  divide  their  territory,  unite 
their  educational  work,  and  duplicate  neither 
their  churches  nor  their  forces.  In  so  far  as  they 
could  do  so  they  divided  their  territory,  and  they 
have  united  their  educational  work  in  North 
China,  Shantung,  Central  China,  West  China, 
and  wherever  it  was  possible  to  do  so. 

In  North  China  a  few  years  ago  the  American 
Board  Mission  had  a  well-developed  college  and 
theological  school  at  Tung-chou,  fifteen  miles 
east    of     Peking.       The     Methodist     Episcopal 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  121 

Mission  had  the  Peking  University  which  included 
a  department  of  arts,  theology  and  medicine,  in 
the  last  of  which  the  physicians  of  all  the  missions 
were  engaged  in  teaching,  and  students  from  all  . 
the  missions  were  in  attendance.  The  London 
Mission,  the  Presbyterian  and  the  English 
Church  Mission  did  not  have  so  well-developed 
an  educational  work.  It  was  decided  to  unite 
and  distribute  the  work.  The  American  Board 
kept  its  college  at  Tung-chou  ;  gave  its  theologi- 
cal school  to  the  Presbyterian  Mission;  and  the 
London  Mission  undertook  the  development  of  a 
large  medical  college  with  which  the  Methodist 
united  its  medical  department  of  the  Peking 
University,  and  in  which  the  American  Board, 
Presbyterian  and  English  Church  Missions  joined 
both  in  teachers  and  students.  It  was  to  the 
erection  of  the  building  for  this  school  that  the 
Empress  Dowager  contributed  $9,000. 

A  similar  union  was  entered  into  in  Shantung  Shantung 
Province  where  the  Presbyterians  had  one  of  the  Union, 
strongest  colleges  in  the  whole  empire,  and  where 
the  English  Baptists  had  a  large  school  and  the 
most  noted  museum  in  China.  These  missions 
joined  with  the  Church  of  England  Mission  in 
that  province  in  establishing  their  central  union 
college  at  Weihsien. 

In  addition  to  this  Weihsien  College  there  is 
the  union  medical  college  at  Tsinan-fu,  formed 
by  the  English  Baptists  and  American  Presby- 
terians  and  the  normal  training  school  at   Tsing- 


122  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

chou-fu,  formed  by  the  union  of  the  same  forces. 
These  three  institutions  make  up  the  Shantung 
Christian  University,  one  of  the  most  highly  re- 
garded educational  centers  in  all  China,  and  a 
strong  bulwark  of  Christianity. 
East  China  In    East    China    the    Christians,    the  Presby- 

Union.  terians    and    the    Methodists,  each  of   whom   had 

large  educational  interests,  decided  to  unite  in 
educational  work.  This  was  done  in  connection 
with  the  Nanking  University,  and  so  we  find 
these  three  denominations  working  not  side  by 
side  but  hand  in  hand,  without  any  reference  to 
■  sectarian  bias,  for  the  good  of  the  Chinese  people. 
The  Baptists  and  Presbyterians,  north  and  south, 
the  Methodists  north  and  the  Christian  Church 
have  united  in  founding,  equipping  and  manning 
the  East  China  Union  Medical  College  at 
Nanking. 
CentralChina,,  At  Hankow  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention, 
the  Wesleyans  and  the  London  Missionary 
vSbciety  unite  to  form  the  Union  Medical  College 
for  training  Chinese  Christian  physicians. 
West  China  In  Wcst  China,  the  Province  of  Szechuan,  the 

Union.  Friends,  the    Baptists,  the    Canadian  Methodists 

and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  have  been 
working  side  by  side  for  many  years.  They  feel 
certain  that  they  can  trust  each  other  to  preach 
a  saving  gospel,  and  so  they  have  divided  up 
their  territory  wherever  they  can  so  as  not  to 
overlap.  In  their  educational  work  they  have 
united    in   establishing   a    central    college  or   uni- 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION    123 

versity  in  the  city  of  Chengtu,  the  capital  of  the 
province.  A  similar  union  is  in  progress  in 
Foochow. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  money  con- 
tributed by  the  churches  is  being  used  in  the  way  Benefits  of 
to  get  the  best  results  with  the  smallest  outlay.  Union. 
If  our  friends  who  are  pouring  so  many  millions 
of  dollars  into  great,  expensive  plants  in  America, 
would  only  direct  one  or  two  millions  a  year 
toward  the  China  Mission,  and  give  us  a  fair 
opportunity  to  do  something  worth  while,  we  can 
promise  them  an  income  ten  times  greater  on 
their  investment  than  they  can  get  in  America. 
If  you  good  people  at  home  would  do  as  the  mis- 
sionaries in  China  are  doing,  trade  off  church  for 
church  in  every  country  village  where  you  have 
five  or  six  where  three  could  do  the  work,  and 
send  the  other  two  or  three  pastors  to  the  mission 
field,  you  would  not  only  bless  the  church  abroad 
and  the  church  at  home,  but  you  would  be 
blessed  yourselves. 

Then  where  you  have  too  many  colleges, — and 
you  Americans  have  too  many  colleges  in  places,  Study  the 
my  own  alma  mater  for  example,  has  just  com-  Fi^ld. 
bined  with  a  sister  college  where  they  had  two 
within  the  bounds  of  one  conference, — combine 
forces  and  save  funds.  You  could  do  as  much 
work,  with  less  expense,  greater  blessing  to  your- 
selves, and  you  could  help  the  poor  brother  or 
sister    who   has  never   had   a   chance.      Will   not 


124 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 


Educational 
^\^o^k  Done 
by  the  Mis- 
sionaries. 


American 
Methoda. 


Opportunities 
in  China. 


some  of  my  readers  who  are  thinking  of  building 
or  endowing  a  church  or  a  college  at  home  look 
up  the  matter  of  the  foreign  field,  and  see  in 
what  part  of  the  Lord's  vineyard  your  money 
will  do  the  most  work. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  educational 
work  that  was  first  opened  in  Japan  was  done 
largely  by  American  missionaries.  It  is  equally 
well  known  that  the  American  missionaries  have 
been  the  leaders  in  the  educational  work  in 
China.  The  early  members  of  the  English  Mis- 
sion felt  that  their  call  was  to  preach  rather  than 
to  teach,  and  it  is  only  within  the  last  twenty 
years  that  they  have  discovered  their  mistake,  so 
that  practically  all  the  leading  colleges  and  uni- 
versities have  been  opened  by  American  mis- 
sionaries. 

This  has  done  much  to  influence  both  the 
Japanese  and  the  Chinese  educational  systems; 
and  the  public  school  work  of  both  countries  is 
being  done  for  the  most  part  after  the  American 
method.  Not  many  years  ago  the  missionaries 
from  Japan  urged  their  constituency  to  send 
more  workers  to  that  country  else  they  would  lose 
their  opportunitv.  They  did  not  heed  the  call, 
and  they  lost,  for  it  is  now  too  late.  Japan  has 
her  own  system. 

We  have  come  to  the  same  stage  in  the  devel- 
opment, of  China.  Never  in  her  history  have 
there  been  such  opportunities  as  there  are  to- 
day.    It  was  Americans  that  established  their  first 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  125 

public  school  systems  for  them.  They  are  now 
calling  for  teachers,  and  they  offer  to  allow  our 
young  Christian  Chinese  men  and  wotnen  to  go 
into  their  schools  as  teachers  if  ive  will  pay  the 
nominal  SUJH  of  from  $10  to  $20  annually  toward 
their  support.  China  is  calling.  Shall  we  heed 
the  call?  China  is  stretching  out  her  hands  for 
help.  Shall  we  help  her?  Or  ohall  we  allow 
her  to  attempt  to  open  her  own  schools,  carry  on 
her  own  work,  with  only  Confucian  teachers  try- 
ing to  put  the  new  education  of  the  West  into 
the  old  bottles  of  the  East.  There  have  been 
other  occasions  when  we  have  said,  "Now  is  the 
crucial  moment."  I  am  not  going  to  say  that. 
I  want  you  to  study  the  problem  and  see  whether 
there  ever  was  a  time  such  as  now  in  China.  We 
lost  our  supreme  opportunity  in  Japan  by  failing 
to  grasp  it  when  it  came.  Shall  we  do  so  in 
China? 

In  addition  to   all   this  work  by  the  churches,    University 
a  number    of    the    colleges    and    universities    in   Missions. 
Great  Britain  and   the  United  States  have  taken 
up   a   special    work    of    their   own.      Prominent 
among  these  are  the  following: — 

Harvard  University  has  united  with  St.  John's  Harvard. 
University  in  Shanghai    in  the  establishment  of  a 
medical  department  which  we  may  hope  will  take 
the  place   in  Eastern  China  that  the  union  medi- 
cal college  takes  in  the  north. 

Yale  University,  at  the  close  of  the  Boxer  up-   Yale, 
rising,  and  perhaps  as  the  result  of  an  inspiration 


126 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 


Oberlin. 


Pennsylvania 
University. 


Princeton 
University. 


Chicago 
University. 


Oxford  and 
Cambridge. 


which  came  from  the  loss  of  some  of  her  noble 
graduates,  decided  to  open  a  mission  in  Changsha 
in  Hunan.  This  mission  is  well  manned  by 
some  of  her  strongest  graduates. 

Oberlin  College  has  taken  up  work  with  the 
American  Board  Mission  in  Shansi,  where  she  is 
doing  as  effective  work  as  any  of  the  American 
colleges. 

As  Harvard  united  herself  with  the  St.  John's 
University  in  Shanghai,  so  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  has  made  herself  responsible  for  the 
medical  department  in  connection  with  the  Can- 
ton Christian  College,  always  affiliated  more  or 
less  with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  though  now, 
I  believe,  independent. 

Princeton  University  has  sent  a  number  of  her 
best  graduates  to  China,  and  has  been  doing  a 
good  deal  of  work  in  connection  with  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  of  North  China,  and  has  erected  a  hospital 
at  Paoting-fu  where  she  lost  some  of  her  most 
noble  graduates  during  the  Boxer  uprising. 

Chicago  University  has  in  mind  something 
larger  perhaps,  than  anything  that  has  yet  been 
done — the  establishment  of  a  Christian  university 
in  some  part  of  China  which  will  be  liberally 
endowed  and  well  manned.  Dr.  Burton  was 
sent  around  the  world  with  the  express  purpose 
of  investigating  conditions  in  China  with  that  in 
mind. 

A  few  years  ago  Oxford  and  Cambridge  united 
in  sending  Lord  William  Cecil  to  China  for  the 


AJV  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  127 

purpose  of  studying  conditions  tnere,  and  report- 
ing that  they  might  know  where,  and  what  kind 
of  work  it  might  be  best  to  take  up.  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  in  the  near  future  these  great  English 
universities  will  have  a  college  or  a  university  in 
China  as  their  own  special  representative. 

May  we  not  hope  that  other  colleges  and  uni- 
versities, and  women's  colleges,  will  take  up  this 
same  kind  of  work.  Wellesley,  Vassar,  Smith, 
Bryn  Mawr,  and  Mt.  Holyoke  ought  to  have 
special  work  among  women. 

May   we   not   fail    to    see    our   opportunity    in   Opportunities 

China.  in  Education 

T-.  1  1  ,         .         .         .  o        for  Women. 

i*  or     decades      such     institutions      as      bt. 
John's     University     in    Shanghai,     the     Canton 
Christian    College,    the    Peking   University,    the 
North  China  Union  College,  the  Shantung  Union 
College,  the  Nanking  and   Chengtu   Union   Col-     t 
leges,  the    colleges    at   Shanghai,    Soochow   and   christian 
Foochow,    Boone    College    in   Hankow   and    the   Graduates. 
American  Board  College  at  Foochow  have  been 
sending  out   their  trained   graduates.     Many  of 
these  graduates  have  been  leaders   in  this  great 
awakening  and  the  anti-opium  movement. 

Now  they  are  in  danger  of  losing  this  leader- 
ship unless    they   can  keep   ahead  of  the  newly 
established    government    institutions,  by    raising   p^ 
their  standard  of  teaching  and   improving  their  Critical 
buildings   and   equipment.       They  must  employ  Moment, 
more    and    better  trained   teachers.      They    must 
erect  larger  and  better  buildings.      They  must  be 


128  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

prepared  for  larger  numbers  and  longer  training 
if  they  are  to  adequately  meet  the  increasing  de- 
mand for  educated  voung  men  as  teachers  in  the 
native  colleges  and  to  fill  positions  of  responsibility 
in  the  new  industries  and  civic  life. 
Enlarged  Graduates   of    Christian   colleges  are   in   great 

Equipment  demand  because  of  their  superior  training,  de- 
Necessary.  votion  and  character.  We  must  maintain  this 
prestige,  if  we  are  to  have  our  largest  influence 
and  effectiveness  in  the  regeneration  of  China. 
More  important  than  all  else  we  must  train  a 
native  ministry  capable  of  leading  these  trained 
and  educated  laymen,  and  through  them  to  lead 
the  nation  into  the  ways  of  God. 

To-day  is  the  crucial  time  to  help  these  insti- 
tutions, and  build  up  the  Christian  Church  in 
China. 

China  must  be  converted  by  Converted  Chinese, 
educated  in  these  schools  that  have  been  estab- 
lished for  both  the  boys  and  the  girls,  but  you 
and  I  must  go  or  send  to  lead  these  young  Chinese 
people  to  Christ  and  then  teach  them  to  go. 

ILLUSTRATIVE  QUOTATIONS 
"  One  of  the  notable  events  of  the  year  1911  was  the 
selection  of  the  second  contingent  of  students  to  be 
sent  by  the  government  to  America  to  study,  under  the 
wise  provisions  which  the  government  has  made  for 
the  use  of  the  indemnity  fund  returned  by  America. 
Competitive  examinations  were  held  .  .  .  nearly  all 
the  successful  candidates  in  South  China  had  been 
trained  in  the  Christian  college  at  Canton."  (F.  W. 
Bible.) 


Bible  School  in  Hankow  with  Deaconess  Hart 

Protestant  Episcopal 


RllETORICALS,    GlKLs'    ScHOOL,    PEKING 

Woman's  Hoard  of  Missions 


AN  ED UCA  TIONAL   RE  VOL  UTION  129 

"  Four  thousand  Chinese  students  are  studying  in 
Japan,  1,200  in  the  United  States,  and  a  1,000  more  in 
Europe.  Under  Protestant  missionaries  in  China,  over 
900  students  are  in  college,  20,000  in  preparatory  and 
boarding  schools,  and  55,000  in  day  schools.  In  a  word 
80,000  students  are  under  Protestant  Christian  teaching 
in  China,  of  whom  16,000  are  girls  and  young  women. 
In  addition  to  missionary  teachers  some  700  other 
foreign  teachers  are  employed  chiefly  by  the  govern- 
ment. Text-books  of  Western  learning  are  being  intro- 
duced, a  single  Chinese  publishing  house  in  Shanghai 
selling  over  a  million  dollars  (Mexican)  worth  a 
year.  .  .  .  The  regent  has  issued  a  decree  making  Eng- 
lish the  official  language  for  all  scientific  and  technical 
instruction,  and  compulsory  in  all  high  schools  where 
science  is  taught."     (Bishop  Bashford.) 

"The  educational  activities  of  missions  in  China 
have  been  incessant.  Of  the  fourteen  institutions  of 
college  grade,  twelve  are  American,  exhibiting  the  em- 
phasis which  Americans  almost  invariably  place  upon 
this  agency.  The  total  number  of  pupils  at  present 
under  instruction,  in  missionary  colleges  and  schools 
in  China,  is  53,293.  From  the  days  of  Dr.  S.  R. 
Brown,  whose  early  beginnings  in  Macao  and  Hong 
Kong  produced  a  few  men  who  became  leaders  in 
China,  down  to  the  present  day,  the  potency  of  this  in- 
strument, upon  which  the  perpetuation  and  expansion 
of  the  Church  in  China  depends,  has  been  recognized. 
The  education  of  Chinese  girls  in  mission  schools  was 
but  yesterday  regarded  by  nearly  all  Chinese  with 
amusement  tinged  with  ridicule.  Yet  so  great  is  the 
change  that  almost  before  the  fully  developed  woman's 
colleges  can  be  acclimated  in  China,  they  have  become 
the  ideal  of  the  Chinese  also.  It  was  at  the  especial 
command  of  the  Empress  Dowager  that  the  imperial 
commissioners  visited  Wellesley  College,  to  witness 
for  themselves  what   has  been  done  by  and    for  Ameri- 


130  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

can  women,  and  to  learn  what  must  be  done  in  China. 
There  are  already  signs  that  the  impending  education 
and  elevation  of  the  nearly  two  hundred  millions  of 
Chinese  women  will  impart  to  the  national  develop- 
ment such  an  impetus  as  has  never  before  been  known; 
and  humanly  speaking  it  will  have  been  largely  brought 
about  through  the  work  and  influence  of  Christian 
women  in  China."  (Dr.  Arthur  H,  Smith  in  "The 
Uplift  of  China,"  p.  223.) 

"We  take  pleasure  in  bearing  testimony  to  ihe  part 
taken  by  American  missionaries  in  promoting  the 
progress  of  the  Chinese  people.  They  have  borne  the 
light  of  Western  civilization  into  every  nook  and  corner 
of  the  empire.  The  awakening  of  China  which  now 
seems  to  be  at  hand,  may  be  traced  in  no  small  measure 
to  the  hands  of  the  missionaries.  For  this  service  j'ou 
will  find  China  not  ungrateful."     (Viceroy  Tuan  Fang.) 

"An  interesting  instance  of  the  changed  attitude 
toward  women  on  the  part  of  Chinese  men  occurred  at 
the  Jubilee  celebration  of  the  establishment  of  the 
Methodist  School  for  Girls  in  Foochow.  .  .  .  The 
Fuhkien  Provincial  Assembly  was  in  session  and  the 
general  Executive  Committee  and  officers  of  the  Assem- 
bly were  invited  to  be  present.  That  every  one  of  them 
was  present  was  indicative  of  a  new  interest  in  the 
progress  of  woman.  A  young  man  of  wealth  and 
position  said : — 

"  'Some  time  ago  I  was  interested  in  establishing  a 
school  for  girls  in  a  neighboring  city.  When  the 
question  of  teachers  came  up  one  man  said,  "Send  to 
the  Methodist  Girls'  School  in  Foochow."  That  was 
the  first  time  I  ever  heard  of  the  school.     The  ladies  in 

charge    sent    us    Miss and    Miss (mentioning 

both  names),  and  I  hope  every  member  of  the  Assembly 
here  present  will  go  home  and  establish  a  girls'  school, 
and  send  here  for  teachers.' 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  131 

"To  mention  these  names,"  wrote  the  principal  of 
the  school,  "was  a  terrible  breach  of  Chinese  etiquette. 
My  heart  stood  still.  When  the  interpreter  repeated 
this  address  in  the  Foochow  dialect  I  thought  he  cer- 
tainly would  not  repeat  the  names  of  the  girls,  for  he 
was  the  Mr.  Wang  who  had  taught  all  new  missionaries 
for  twenty  years  that  we  should  never  speak  the  name 
of  a  Chinese  woman  in  public,  but  should  say,  'a  cer- 
tain sister'  or  'such  a  man's  daughter,  wife  or  sister,' 
but  he  did  speak  the  names  not  only  07ice  but  tivtce 
with  emphasis — and  then  it  dawned  on  me  that  in  the 
new  China  girls  and  women  were  to  have  names  and 
individualities."  (Condensed  from  Margaret  Burton's 
"Education  of  Women  in  China,"  p.  181.) 

"  'We  inherit  the  respect  for  centuries  accorded 
teachers,'  a  young  American  teacher  in  China  once 
told  me.  The  educated  young  Chinese  wom.en  inherit 
it  too,  for  China  has  proved  consistent  in  her  reverence 
for  learning,  and  honours  it  in  women  to-day  as  she 
has  ever  honoured  it  in  man."  (Margaret  Burton,  in 
"Education  of  Women  in  China,"  p.  206.) 

"The  Chinese  mother  is  ignorant,  without  knowledge 
of  the  methods  of  unfolding  her  child's  nature.  She  is 
ignorant  of  the  nature  of  the  emotions  of  the  child,  or 
their  order  of  evolution,  or  their  functions,  or  where 
use  ends  and  abuse  begins.  Many  an  action  which  is 
quite  normal  and  beneficial  she  continually  thwarts, 
thus  diminishing  the  child's  happiness  and  profit,  in- 
juring its  temper  and  lessening  her  own  power  and  in- 
fluence. .  .  but  a  longing,  a  hungering  for  knowledge 
fills  their  hearts.  They  realize  .  .  .  that  the  intel- 
lectual darkness  of  their  own  minds  hinders  them  from 
filling  satisfactorily  the  highest  position  given  to  mor- 
tals in  this  earth,  that  of  parent — mother."  (Mrs. 
Wong,  a  Chinese  woman,  in  "Chinese  Students' 
Monthly,"  December,  1909.) 


132  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

"Endowment  is  the  greatest  need  of  the  Christian 
colleges  in  Japan  and  China.  They  are  now  dependent 
upon  the  ups  and  downs  of  'good  times,'  and  of  appro- 
priations, and  have  to  submit  to  such  curtailments  as 
would  ruin  colleges  in  the  homeland.  Work  that  is 
worth  doing  at  all  is  worth  doing  well,  and_  colleges 
that  are  worth  having  at  all  are  worth  making  strong. 
With  all  the  stupendous  gifts  to  education  in  America 
is  it  not  strange  that  American  education  in  the  East  is 
left  to  live  a  hand  to  mouth  existence?"  (Lewis, 
"Educational  Conquest  of  the  Far  East,"  p.  205.) 

"Christian  education  in  China  will  not  be  supplanted 
by  the  educational  establishments  of  the  government. 
It  now  exerts  a  distinctive  and  commanding  influ- 
ence. .  .  .  Christian  colleges,  their  curricula,  organi- 
zation, methods  of  instruction,  spirit  of  knowledge  and 
aspersions  of  superstition  are  models  for  the  Chinese 
authorities.  ...  In  every  Liberal  Arts  College  thus  far 
started  by  the  Chinese  Government  the  highest  positions 
entrusted  to  foreigners  have  invariably  been  offered  to 
and  urged  upon  missionaries.  .  .  .  Christian  education 
is  the  government's  chief  source  of  supply  of  trained 
Chinese  teachers.  Teng  Chou  College  furnished  thir- 
teen Chinese  professoi-s,  all  Christians  for  the  Imperial 
Colleges  in  Peking,  Nanking  and  Shanghai  in  1898. 
St.  John's  College  provided  the  Government  College  at 
Nan  Yang  with  three."     (Ibid,  pp.  205-206.) 

"A  further  problem  is  that  of  education.  The  new 
departure  of  the  Chinese  Government  in  educational 
lines  has  put  an  end  to  the  practical  monopoly  of 
Western  learning  in  the  mission  schools.  Free  tuition, 
and  sometimes  the  payment  of  most  or  of  all  other 
expenses  by  the  state,  would  seem  to  make  competition 
hopeless;  but  from  the  absence  of  true  normal  schools, 
and  from  many  other  causes,  the  teaching  standards  of 
the  former  must   for  some  time  remain   below   those  of 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  133 

the  latter.  The  worship  of  Confucius  in  many  govern- 
ment schools  excludes,  and  is  intended  to  exclude, 
Christians.  In  the  government  schools  especially  there 
is  a  strong  impulse  to  meddle  with  public  affairs,  not 
only  by  free  discussion,  but  by  sending  telegrams  direct 
to  the  foreign  ofHce  (an  unheard  of  thing  in  the  past), 
suggesting  and  protesting.  In  a  recent  instance  a  large 
body  of  Shan-hsi  students  demanded  the  cancellation  of 
a  mining  concession  formerly  given  to  an  Anglo- 
Italian  syndicate.  One  of  their  number  threw  himself 
into  the  ocean  and  drowned  himself  as  a  gentle  protest, 
thus  becoming  a  martyr  whose  fame  is  now  celebrated 
and  in  whose  honor  fiery  resolutions  are  passed.  There 
is  a  constant  and  an  increasing  danger  that  young 
Chinese  reject  the  moral  teachings  and  the  wise  re- 
straints of  the  past,  and  drift  into  a  theoretical  skep- 
ticism combined  with  an  epicurean  license.  Many  of 
the  16,000  students  at  present  in  Japan  return  with  an 
imperfect  knowledge  of  that  language,  a  smattering  of 
many  branches  of  learning,  their  self-conceit  estab- 
lished and  their  morals  undermined."  (Arthur  H. 
Smith  in  "The  Uplift  of  China,"  p.  189.) 

"Sometimes  the  pendulum  of  progress  swings  almost 
too  far.  Two  day  pupils  in  another  school  have  adopted 
things  Western  in  a  wholesale  style.  When  they  ap- 
plied for  admission  they  were  in  full  European  dress. 
They  had  no  Chinese  education  and  did  not  care  for  it; 
they  wanted  English  and  music.  They  could  read  some 
English,  which  they  could  not  understand ;  neither 
could  the  teachers,  as  they  read  it.  They  could  play 
'Jesus  Loves  Me'  and  'Peter  Piper.'  The  missionaries 
gave  them  the  best  advice  possible,  some  of  which  was 
that  they  wear  their  native  dress.  In  a  few  days  they 
returned,  asking  that  they  might  come  to  school  in  their 
foreign  clothes  as  they  had  no  others.  The  request  was 
refused,  but  in  about  ten  days  they  appeared  again, 
transformed  by  their  becoming  Chinese  dress. 


134  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

"Another  pupil  has  gained  the  nickname  'Puss  in 
Boots,'  because  she  has  her  little  old-style  feet  encased 
in  new-style  velveteen  boots.  She  is  not  only  fashion- 
ably dressed  but  is  also  saturated  with  cigarette  smoke 
— a  too  progressive  type! 

"It  is  said  that  now  there  is  not  a  prince's'palace  or 
an  official's  home  where  the  girls  are  not  studying; 
that  now  a  woman  is  ashamed  if  she  cannot  read, 
whereas  formerly  it  was  held  to  be  a  matter  of  little 
importance. 

"The  government  schools  require  the  pupils  to  re- 
frain from  wearing  ornaments  or  artificial  flowers,  and 
from  using  paint  or  powder.  The  hair  is  simply 
braided  or  coiled  in  a  Japanese  knot.  They  wear  a  sort 
of  uniform,  usually  a  plain  black  or  dark  blue  gar- 
ment."    (Methodist  Leaflet. ) 

"China,  too,  is  feeling  the  stir  of  modern  progress, 
and  is  slowly  awaking  to  the  fact  that  girls  are  worth 
educating.  'What  pretty  faces  some  of  these  Peking 
girls  have!'  exclaimed  a  lady,  looking  at  a  photograph 
of  a  group  of  graduates.  'Oh!  yes,'  was  the  reply. 
'Didn't  you  know  that  Chinese  girls  often  have  pretty 
faces?'  But  they  have  mo^-e  than  this.  The  warm 
hearts  and  bright  minds  that  make  any  group  of  Ameri- 
can girls  a  charming  sight,  are  found  in  China  as  well, 
and  the  missionaries  have  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
such  beauty  making. 

"At  our  Peking  school  the  greatest  event  of  the  year 
is  the  graduation.  The  chapel  is  beautifully  decorated 
with  flowers  and  branches  of  trees,  and  an  attractive 
program  is  prepared. 

"Mrs. 's  report    of    a   recent    Commencement 

says:  'The  girls  came  upon  the  platform  with  composed 
dignity,  and  gave  their  essays  without  any  indication 
of  flight  or  faint. '  Of  course  they  did!  This  is  the 
well-bred  'new  woman'  of  China.     'It  was  a  glimpse  of 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION  135 

the  current  of  progress  that  is  setting  forward  here,  and 
it  will  have  much  to  do  with  the  re-making  of  China. 
The  Chinese  are  waking  up  to  the  fact  that  to  have  a 
strong  nation  there  must  be  strong  women,  and  that 
crippled  mothers  cannot  produce  a  nation  of  strong 
men.' 

"A  delightful  feature  of  the  Commencement  exercises 
at  the  Foochow  girls'  school  was  an  address  to  the 
graduating  class  by  Dr.  Hu  King  Eng.  The  spectacle 
of  an  educated  Chinese  doctor  addressing  her  young 
country  women  on  such  an  occasion,  is  of  far-reaching 
significance.  At  the  Kucheng  school,  the  well-prepared 
essays  were  given  on  the  following  topics:  'China's 
Noted  Women,'  'The  Superior  Advantages  of  Girls 
Attending  Christian  Schools,'  'Knowledge  is  Power,' 
'How  the  Gospel  has  Benefited  Chinese  Women,'  'Our 
Debt  of  Gratitude  to  God.'  How  like  and  yet  how 
unlike  our  own  Commencement  themes  this  sounds!" 
(Methodist  Leaflet.) 

"The  school  day  begins  with  the  daylight,  for  the 
girls  are  early  risers.  With  the  first  streak  of  dawn 
the  blue  cotton  cocoons  unroll  and  the  black  eyes  are 
wide  awake.  When  this  one  cotton  bed  covering  is 
folded  at  the  side  of  the  bed,  the  bed  is  made.  Dress- 
ing as  quickly  follows,  for  a  pair  of  trousers,  an  upper 
garment,  a  pair  of  embroidered  slippers  are  easily 
donned,  but  the  hair  takes  time.  The  girls  tiptoe  into 
the  broad  hall  and  silently,  by  the  dim  light  of  a  lan- 
tern, make  their  toilets.  The  hair  is  oiled  and  combed 
until  perfectly  smooth  and  glossy,  then  braided  or 
beautifully  coiled,  and  decorated  with  bright  flowers. 
The  older  pupils  help  the  younger  ones  and  often  the 
most  wonderful  creations  of  hair  bows  and  butterflies 
appear  on  the  little  round  heads. 

"The  six  o'clock  bell  loosens  the  tongues,  opens  the 
windows,  and  ushers  in  the  day.  At  intervals  of  fifteen 
minutes   bells  call   the  girls   down    by  classes    to  small 


136  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

wooden  tubs  of  hot  water  ready  in  the  outer  court. 
After  the  bath,  the  frugal  souls,  economical  of  time  and 
the  hot  water  remaining,  will  hurry  to  the  washtubs  and 
the  bamboo  poles  in  the  yard  will  be  clothed  upon 
by  a  bright  array  of  freshly  washed,  stiffly  stretched  gar- 
ments before  the  seven  o'clock  breakfast  bell  rings. 

"Then  the  great  tub  of  rice  is  carried  into  the  dining 
room,  a  dish  each  of  dried  fish,  sour  vegetable,  bean- 
curd  cakes,  and  fragrant  oil  are  placed  in  the  center  of 
each  table,  and  after  they  have  sung  grace,  the  activi- 
ties begin.  One  girl  will  consume  three  bowls  of  rice 
in  three  times  three  minutes  and  not  fail  of  her  share 
of  the  good  things  in  the  center  dishes!  This  does  not 
unfit  her  for  her  domestic  duties,  but  armed  with  the 
broom,  dustpan  or  duster  which  bears  her  name  she 
will  do  her  share  of  the  daily  house  cleaning  so  faith- 
fully, that  she  has  no  fear  of  the  inspectors,  who  go 
about  at  eight  o'clock  to  see  that  all  is  complete. 

"After  this  the  big  schoolroom  is  quiet  half  an  hour 
for  the  'Morning  Watch,'  and  as  the  time  coincides 
with  the  hour  for  evening  prayer  in  the  churches  of 
America,  surely  the  Christians  at  home  will  be  glad  to 
remember  at  the  Throne  of  Grace  the  little  Christians 
praying  in  China.  At  nine  o'clock  the  three  men 
teachers  coming  from  their  homes  in  the  city,  walk  in 
in  single  file,  in  long  blue  cotton  gowns,  and  much 
dignity.  They  conduct  prayers  with  the  assembled 
girls,  teachers  and  helpers,  and  the  school  work  of  the 
day  begins.  Classes  move  regularly  with  singing  and 
gymnastics  for  rest  periods,  and  one  and  one-half  hours 
for  dinner,  dish  washing  and  play  at  noon.  At  four, 
the  officers  of  the  'School  city'  meet  for  business. 
The  policemen  bring  in  all  who  have  broken  rules 
during  the  day,  the  court  sits  in  judgment,  and  the  girl 
who  has  said  naughty  words,  has  been  noisy  at  table, 
or  v/ho  has  run  down  the  long  stairs,  must  do  penance 


AN  EDUCATIONAL  REVOLUTION   137 

by  washing  a  window,  walking  about  quietly,  or  sitting 
in  meditation. 

"Washing  clothes,  making  shoes,  play  and  supper 
fill  the  time  until  6.30,  when  the  older  girls  sit  with 
groups  of  the  smaller  girls  and  help  them  understand 
the  hard  characters  until  time  for  evening  prayers. 
Then  comes  the  early  bedtime, — the  younger  girls  going 
at  7  and  the  older  ones  an  hour  later."  (Harriet 
Osliorne. ) 

QUESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

1.  What  features  in  China's  history  make  education 
of  supreme  importance.' 

2.  Compare  the  Chinese  educational  revolution  with 
that  of  Japan  as  to  causes,  leadership,  methods,  magni- 
tude. 

3.  What  factors  make  outside  help  necessary  to  China 
if  she  is  to  successfully  make  the  great  transformation 
of  her  schools? 

4.  What  is  the  relative  importance  of  the  education 
of  girls  in  China? 

5.  What  do  you  consider  the  greatest  educational 
opportunity  in  China?  the  greatest  educational  need? 

6.  Are  the  college  women  of  America  doing  their 
share  in  promoting  the  higher  education  of  Chinese 
women? 

7.  What  do  you  consider  the  fundamental  defects  in 
China's  old  educational  system? 

8.  If  you  had  $500,000  to  spend  on  education  in  China 
how  and  where  would  you  spend  it? 

9.  What  is  the  most  pressing  educational  problem  in 
China  now  before  your  denominational   Board? 

10.  What  are  the  strong  and  what  the  weak  features 
of  the  educational  work  of  your  Board  in  China? 

11.  What   kind  of  a  Chinese  church  are  you  training? 


CHAPTER   IV 


THE    CHIISESE    CHURCH 


If  ever  the  renewed  China  shall  be  realized  it 
must  be  the  work  of  a  living  church  of  Chinese 
Christians.  An  army  of  German,  English, 
French  and  American  missionaries  cannot  Chris- 
tianize China.  The  beautiful  words  of  Charlotte 
Tucker  spoken  of  missionary  work  in  India  are 
true  everywhere:  "We  are  only  coolies  who  open 
the  door,  they  go  in  themselves." 
Aim  of  It  is  the  aim  of  this  present  chapter  to  sketch 

Chapter.  on  a  background  of  the  inadequate  native  faiths  a 

picture  of  the  quality  and  activities  of  the  Chinese 
Christian    church,   and    to    make    clear   the   part 
which   the  American  churches  are  having  in  has- 
tening its  development. 
Native  Re-  In  "Rcx  Christus"  we  learned  the  history  and 

ligions.  work  of    the   Christian  Church    in  China   up   to 

the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  centui'y.  We 
learned  of  the  three  religions  of  China, — Confu- 
cianism, Buddhism  and  Taoism.  We  learned 
that  Confucius  neither  claimed  to  know  anything 
about  death  nor  about  God.  When  asked  about 
God  he  said,  "I  do  not  know  man,  how  can  I 
know  God?"  When  asked  about  death,  he  also 
said,    "I    do    not    know    life,  how    can    I    know 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       139 

death?"  But  he  taught  the  people  to  reverence 
and  pay  the  highest  respect — even  worship 
— toward  their  ancestors,  and  so  we  call  it  a 
religion. 

It    is,  however,  only  a  system   of   morality,  the   Confucianism 
difference   being:   that    it   claims   to   be  a  relation   a  System  of 
of  man  to  man,  while  religion   is   the  relation  of       °^^ 
man  to  God.      Confucianism   may   be   considered 
the  world's  greatest  system  of  agnosticism. 

Buddhism,  on  the  other  hand,  while  without  a  Buddkism. 
belief  in  a  personal  God,  is  a  religion,  and  it  is 
because  of  its  religious  ideals  that  it  acquired 
such  a  hold  upon  the  hearts  and  lives  of  the 
Chinese  people.  What  Confucianism  undertook 
to  do  for  the  intellectual  nature  of  the  Chinese, 
Buddhism  undertook  to  do  for  their  spiritual 
nature. 

Taoism  began  as  a  religious  philosophy.  It  Taoism, 
developed,  however,  into  a  sort  of  pseudo-scien- 
tific system,  dealing  with  astrology,  or  the  study 
of  the  stars,  planets  and  heavenly  bodies  as  they 
related  to  or  governed  the  events  of  human  life. 
Taoists  devoted  themselves  to  the  study  of 
alchemy, — the  ancestor  of  chemistry, — and  spent 
a  large  part  of  their  time  for  two  centuries  before, 
and  two  centuries  after  Christ,  to  an  effort  to  dis- 
cover the  elixir  of  life,  and  a  method  bv  whichy' 
they  might  transform  cinnabar  into  golcL^^,,..,-— ^''' 

Now  the  question  arises  was  Confucianism  a  Was  Confu- 
success  as  an  educational  and  moral  system.  And  ciamsmaSuc- 
our  answer  would  be,  as  compared  with  all  other 


cess  ; 


140  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

non-Christian  systems,  a  decided  yes.  It  de- 
veloped the  two  governments  that  have  stood 
longer  than  any  other  governments  that  the  world 
has  to-day,  China  and  Japan.  Shall  we  say  that 
this  was  because  they  followed  the  command, 
"Honor  thy  father  and  mother  that  thy  days  may 
be  long  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  thv  God 
giveth  thee"?  Whatever  may  have  been  the 
reason,  they  have  stood  the  test  of  time  until 
they  came  up  against  the  Christian  governments, 
w^hen  they  would  have  fallen  but  for  the  fact  that 
they  were  allowed  to  remain.  Was  Confucianism 
a  success  as  an  educational  system  compared  with 
Christianity?  Let  the  Chinese  answer, — nay. 
The  Chinese  and  the  Japanese  have  both  answered 
that  question,  for  both  of  these  Oriental  peoples 
have  discarded  their  old  educational  systems  of 
their  own  accord — China  during  the  last  decade 
— for  that  inspired  by  the  gospel  and  developed 
first  by  the  church,  and  later  by  Christian  gov- 
ernments. 

Was  Bud-  Was  Buddhism  a  success  as  a  religious  system? 

dhism  a  Sue-  Let  the  poverty,  the  ignorance,  the  weakness  and 
the  immorality  of  all  the  Buddhist  countries 
testify.  What  do  we  hear,  year  after  year  from 
the  countries  where  Buddhism  prevails, — plenty 
or  poverty?  Are  we  not  sending  to  China  year 
after  year  great  quantities  of  flour  because  of 
famine  and  poverty?  Are  not  famine  and  poverty 
because  of  ignorance?  Now  why  is  it  that  we 
seldom  hear  of  famine  among  Christian  nations? 


cess 


The  Buddhist 
Priest. 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       141 

There  must  be  about  the  gospel  something  which 
inspires  men  to  learn,  leads  them  to  discover  the 
wealth  that  God  has  hid  away  in  the  earth  and 
enables  them  to  get  it  out.  Try  to  work  out  a 
theory  of  your  own  as  to  why  the  Christian 
countries  are  wealthy,  prosperous,  intelligent, 
progressive,  with  so  many  comforts  in  life,  and 
why  the  Buddhist  lands  are  without  these  things, 
and  then  ask  yourself  why  should  I  believe  in 
esoteric  Buddhism  while  I  live  in  a  land  with  a 
Bible? 

The  Buddhist  priests  are  ignorant,  and  in  some 
of  the  temples  have  all  the  foulness  of  early 
Corinth;  and  even  the  children  ridicule  them  in 
their  nursery  rhymes,  for  they  say: — 

Pat-a-cake,  pat-a-cake,  little  girl  fair, 

There's  a  priest  in  the  temple  without  any  hair, 

You  take  a  tile  and  I'll  take  a  brick, 

And  we'll  hit  the  priest  in  the  back  of  the  neck. 

f  Have  the  Taoists  been  a  success  as  scientists?  ^^^  Taoism 
China  has  never  made  a  real  science.  In  all  her  ^  ^""=e3s. 
implements  she  is  as  primitive  as  her  ancestors 
of  a  thousand  years  ago.  Her  plow  is  a  forked 
stick  tipped  with  a  piece  of  metal  which  only 
roots  up  the  thin  surface  soil.  Her  harrow  is  a 
brush  pile  dragged  over  the  field.  She  has  never 
made  a  cradle  or  a  scythe,  but  pulls  her  wheat  or 
cuts  it  with  a  sickle  and  thrashes  it  with  a  rolling 
stone.  Her  drill  is  a  gourd,  with  a  bamboo 
attached  to  the  neck,  which  the  farmer  rat-a-tap- 
taps  as  he  goes  along  the  furrow  drilling  one  row 


142 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 


Gospel  In- 
fluence. 


The  Chinese 
Church. 


Heroism  of 
the  Mission- 
aries. 


of  wheat  at  a  time.  Her  sawmill  is  nothing  but 
two  men  and  a  crosscut  bucksaw.  Up  to  the  be- 
ginning of  the  twentieth  century  her  best  black- 
smith had  never  made  a  decent  nail.  Given  that 
condition  of  things  after  twenty-four  Jiundred 
years  of  Taoism's  scientific  theories,  about  when 
in  the  history  of  the  world  would  she  be  able  to 
build  a  railroad?  Her  three  i-eligions  therefore 
have  all  failed — each  in  its  own  specialty.  What 
now  has  the  gospel  done  during  the  century  in 
which  it  has  been  preached  in  China.''  ^^^,„,^ 

^When  the  gospel  found  China  she  was  a  closed 
land, — asleep.  She  is  now  awake.  What  of  the 
influence  of  the  church  in  that  awaking? 

For  about  ninety  years  before  the  Boxer  move- 
ment the  Protestant  Church  had  been  at  work  in 
China.  During  the  earlier  decades  the  process 
of  planting  a  Chinese  church  was  very  slow  and 
difficult.  In  1842  there  were  but  six  known 
Chinese  Christians  to  show  for  thirty-five  yeai^s 
of  work.  Ten  years  later  there  were  350;  by 
1865  there  were  2,000.  In  ten  years  these  num- 
bers had  risen  to  13,515  and  by  the  end  of  the 
century  to  100,000. 

The  heroism  of  the  missionaries  whose  unno- 
ticed toil  had  gathered  these  multitudes  will 
never  be  duly  appreciated.  In  spite  of  ostracism, 
misunderstanding,  suspicion,  under  the  terrible 
isolation  of  their  lives,  amid  the  discouraging 
stolidity  and'apparent  immobility  of  their  Chinese 
neighbors  they  gave  their  testimony,  sealing   it 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       143 

often  with  their  blood.      The   Chinese   church    is 
their  memorial. 

For  years  tourists  skeptically  inclined  taunted  Quality  of 
the  missionaries  with  the  unreality  of  their  con-  Chinese 
quest.  "Rice  Christians"  they  called  the  Chinese  ^^^^^t^^^^^- 
church  contemptuously,  meaning  that  they  pro- 
fessed Christianity  only  to  get  rice,  to  secure 
some  temporal  advantage.  Well,  patiently,  little 
by  little,  in  scattered  groups  all  over  the  empire, 
the  missionaries  had  gathered  one  hundred  thou- 
sand of  these  despised  rice  Christians. — most  of 
them  it  is  true  from  the  humbler  classes  of  the 
people.  Then  came  the  terrible  upheaval  of  the 
Boxer  outbreak.  Churches  were  torn  down,  mis- 
sion premises  burned,  the  Christians  hunted  like 
wild  beasts.  They  were  led  out  for  execution, 
a  rude  cross  was  drawn  on  the  ground, — they 
were  promised  immunity  if  by  trampling  on  it 
they  would  renounce  the  Christian  faith.  In  the 
face  of  certain  death  by  cruel  torture  at  least  ten 
thousand  (some  authorities  put  the  figures  much 
higher)  chose  death  before  disloyalty. 

Did  ever  an  infant  church  endure  persecution 
with  more  steadfast  faith?  Pastor  Meng  of 
Paoting-fu,  a  direct  descendant  of  Mencius,  was 
away  from  home  in  safety  when  the  outbreak 
came.  He  hurried  back  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  to  die  with  his  flock.  He  met  cruel 
scourgings,  and  burnings  in  a  vain  effort  to  make 
him  recant,  and  was  at  last  beheaded. 

A   Chinese  preacher  was  beaten  on   the  bare 


144  CHINAS  NEW  DAY 

back  with  one  hundred  blows,  then  bidden  to 
choose  between  apostasy  and  another  hundred 
blows.  Half  dead  he  gasped,  "I  value  Jesus 
Christ  more  than  life,  and  I  will  never  deny 
him."  When  merciful  unconsciousness  came 
he  was  left  for  dead,  but  a  friend  took  him  secretly 
and  nursed  his  wounds  and  he  recovered,  and  to- 
day bears  about  in  his  happy  body  the  marks  of 
the  Lord  Jesus. 

Time  would  fail  to  tell  of  poor  widows  dragged 
through  the  streets,  of  the  voices  of  Chinese 
children  who  during  the  deadly  terror  of  the 
siege  of  Peking,  amid  screaming  shells  and  the 
roar  of  burning  buildings,  were  heard  singing, 
"There'll  be  no  dark  valley  when  Jesus  comes"  ; 
of  old  men  and  maidens,  fathers  and  mothers, 
entire  churches  who  counted  not  their  lives  dear 
to  themselves. 
Effects  of  The  effects  of  such   heroism  were  seen   imme- 

Heroism.  diately  after  the  rebellion.    The  practical  Chinese 

wanted  a  religion  that  had  such  power  over  the 
lives  of  its  followers,  and  in  the  ten  years  which 
have  followed  the  churches  have  grown  as  never 
before.  The  ninety  thousand  left  at  the  end  of 
the  Boxer  rebellion  number  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  to-day. 
Generosity  of  Not  less  notable  than  its  steadfastness  is  the 
Chinese  generosity  of  the  Chinese  church.      In  1903  they 

Church.  gave  for  church  work  $2.50  per  capita.      When  it 

is  considered   that    the    great   majority   of    these 
Christians  were   humble   folk  with    incomes  run- 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       145 

ning  from  $5  to  $15  a  month,  it  is  evident  that 
their  gifts  were  far  greater  proportionately  than 
those  of  American  Christians.  Some  of  the 
stories  of  their  devotion  are  very  touching:  poor 
fanners  in  Tukon  rented  a  piece  of  land  and 
worked  it  in  co-operation  for  the  Lord's  work; 
schoolgirls  went  without  breakfast  and  gave  the 
money  to  the  church  ;  college  students  accepted  as 
pastors  a  pittance  when  as  officials  they  might 
have  had  affluence — Chinese  affluence,  $100  in- 
stead of  $5  monthly. 

When  one  young  man  finished  his  course  in 
college  he  began  teaching  in  the  mission  for  a 
salary  of  five  dollars  a  month,  refusing  one  of 
twenty-five  which  would  soon  have  been  advanced 
to  one  hundred  a  month.  While  he  was  teaching 
for  five  dollars  he  had  an  opportunity  to  teach  Li 
Hung  Chang's  grandsons  English  an  hour  a  day 
for  thirty  dollars  a  month.  He  did  this  extra 
work  and  gave  the  thirty  dollars  each  month  to 
the  school  to  support  a  boy  in  college  for  a  year. 

Testimony   to  the  quality   of  missionary  work   Testimony  oi 
and   the  solidity   of  the    Chinese    Christianity    is    Col.  Charles 
abundant   on  the    part    of    those   who   have   had   ^^°^y- 
longest  and  closest  opportunity  to  observe.      Col. 
Charles    Denby,   former   American   Ambassador, 
says: — 

I  made  a  study  of  missionary  work  in  China.  I  took 
a  man-of-war  and  visited  almost  every  open  port  in 
the  empire.  At  each  of  these  places  I  visited  and  in- 
spected   every    mission    station.       At    the    schools    the 


146  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

scholars  were  arrayed  before  me  and  examined.  I  went 
through  the  missionary  hospitals.  I  attended  synods 
and  church  services.  I  saw  the  missionaries,  ladies  and 
gentlemen  in  their  homes.  I  unqualifiedly,  and  in  the 
strongest  language  that  tongue  can  utter,  give  to  these 
men  and  women  who  are  living  and  dying  in  China  and 
in  the  far  East  my  full  and  unadulterated  commenda- 
tion. In  China  the  missionaries  are  the  leaders  in 
every  charitable  work.  They  give  to  the  natives  largely 
out  of  their  scanty  earnings,  and  they  honestly  admin- 
ister the  alms  of  others.  When  famine  arrives, — and  it 
comes  every  year,-^or  the  rivers  inundate  the  soil  with 
never  ceasing  frequency,  the  missionary  is  the  first  and 
last  to  give  his  time  and  labor  to  alleviate  suffering. 
They  are  the  writers  of  books  for  the  Chinese.  They 
are  the  interpreters  for  them  and  the  legations.  The 
first  graduates  of  the  finest  Western  colleges  supply  and 
practice  surgery, — an  unknown  art  among  the  Chinese. 

W.J.  Bryan's  When  Mr.  William  Jennings  Bryan  took  a  trip 
Testimony.  around  the  world,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  entertain- 
ing him  at  dinner  in  my  own  home  in  Peking, 
and  of  showing  him  about  the  city.  He  gave  the 
Thanksgiving  address  in  the  home  of  Dr.  H.  H. 
Lowry,  to  which  all  Americans  were  invited,  and 
he  visited  and  carefully  inspected  every  mission 
in  the  vicinity  of  which  he  happened  to  be. 
When  he  had  arrived  in  India  he  wrote  me  the 
following  letter: — 

My  dear  Dr.  Headland  : — 

I  am  interested  in  the  work  of  your  girls'  school    in 
Peking  and  am  anxious    to   know  what   it   costs  to  sup- 
port a  girl  for  a  year.     Will    you    kindly    write    me    in 
Cairo,  Egypt,  giving  me  the  necessary  information. 
Sincerely, 

WiLLiAJM  Jennings  Bryan. 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       147 

I  wrote  at  once  saying  that  it  cost  $30  a  year  to 
put  a  girl  through  the  girls'  high  school,  or  a 
boy  through  the  college.  He  wrote  me  from 
Egypt  saying,  "Draw  on  me  until  further  notice 
for  the  support  of  a  girl  in  the  girls'  high 
school."  I  had  the  pleasure  of  introducing  Mr. 
Bryan  at  Bay  View,  Mich.,  when  he  gave  his 
wonderful  lecture  on  the  "Prince  of  Peace,"  and 
after  the  lecture  he  told  me  that  he  took  up  eight 
boys  and  girls  in  different  mission  fields,  all  of 
whom  he  is  supporting  until  the  present  time. 
Such  testimony  from  such  a  man  is  worth  a  good 
deal  more  than  that  of  the  tourist  who  never 
visits  the  missions. 

During  the  past  ten  years  there  has  been  a  Advance  in 
steadv  advance  in  all  kinds  of  church  work,  Churck 
while  in  particular  lines  the  work  has  been  going 
forward  with  remarkable  rapidity.  We  are  told 
by  the  Congregational  report  on  general  work 
that  the  year  1910-11  "has  been  marked  in  sev- 
eral stations  by  a  great  advance  in  the  idea  of 
self-support  and  responsibility  for  the  church  as 
a  Chinese  church.  The  outcome  of  this  move- 
ment has  been  most  striking  in  Tientsin.  The 
general  policy  of  the  station,  as  outlined  a  year 
ago,  has  been  to  place  responsibility  upon  the 
Chinese  leaders.  Plans  for  the  general  work  are 
made  in  consultation  with  them,  and  the  Chris- 
tians in  several  centers  are  expected  to  assume 
local  self-control  as  soon  as  they  are  able  to  do 
so.    A  particular  feature  of  this  readiness  has  been 


148 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 


Union 
Church. 


evident  in  the  attitude  of  the  Tientsin  students  in 
the  theological  and  arts  colleges;  they  have 
evinced  a  deep  interest  in  the  v^elfare  of  the 
church  and  station  which  has  been  of  marked  as- 
sistance. One  of  these  students  has  been  devoting 
himself  to  the  task  of  arousing  the  activity  of  the 
church." 

As  a  result  of  this  movement  there  has  been 
developed  a  self-directing,  independent,  union 
church  in  that  city.  "The  society,"  continues 
the  report,  ''has  called  a  pastor,  a  man  of  ex- 
perience in  the  Methodist  Mission."  Now  isn't 
it  refreshing  to  find  a  lot  of  young  and  old,  new 
Chinese  Congregational  Christians  calling  a 
Methodist  pastor. 

Dr.  Baker  of  the  South  China  Mission  of  the 
Baptist  women  writes: — 


A  Young 

Woman 

Evangelist. 


The  great  spiritual  arvakening  which  manifested  it- 
self a  year  ago  in  South  China,  and  which  was,  humanly 
speaking,  under  the  leadership  of  Miss  Yu,  that  wonder- 
ful Chinese  evangelist,  has  spread  to  various  parts  of 
the  empire.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church 
but  is  not  under  their  Board,  as  she  prefers  to  be  en- 
tirely free  to  go  where  the  Spirit  leads  her.  She  has 
opened  a  home  in  Shanghai  called  the  Bible  School  and 
Prayer  Home.  Here  she  holds  herself  in  readiness  to 
talk  and  pray  with  any  who  come  to  her.  That  is  the 
way  she  began  her  work  in  the  first  place,  just  waiting 
at  home;  for  it  is  contrary  to  all  Chinese  customs  for 
a  young,  unmarried  woman  to  go  about  the  streets  and 
into  the  homes.  So  she  said  she  knew  that  if  the  Lord 
had  some  work  for  her  to  do  he  would  send  it  to  her. 
It   was  not    long  before    her  room  was    found    bv    those 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       149 

wishing  spiritual  help,  and  her  time  was  more  than 
taken.  She  is  such  a  quiet,  modest  little  woman,  but 
speaks  with  the  very  power  of  the  Spirit.  In  all  her 
work  there  seems  to  be  no  dependence  upon  self,  but  an 
acknowledging  of  God's  hand  in  it  all,  and  a  waiting 
upon  him  for  guidance  in  every  affair.  I  know  of  no 
other  Chinese  woman  who  has  been  so  used. 

Since  Miss  Yu's  parents  are  both  dead,  and  her  elder 
brother,  says  she  can  do  as  she  likes,  there  has  been  no 
relative  to  enforce  a  marriage,  as  is  the  case  usually. 
Several  fine  young  Christian  men  have  wished  to  marry 
her,  but  she  says  that  it  is  not  the  will  of  the  Lord  for 
her.  It  is  so  very  unusual  that  the  Chinese  would 
criticise  her  severely  but  for  her  beautiful  Christian 
character,  which  offsets  any  tendency  to  gossip. 

Turn  to  the  report  of  the  Christian  (Disciples)   ciiriatian  Qo 
Church  in  Central  China  and  you  find   them  em-   operation, 
phasizing  the  same  phases  of  work   as   the   Con- 
gregational ists   in  the  north.      The    report    from 
Chuchou  tells  us: — 

Three  things  have  been  emphasized :  Chinese  leader- 
ship, co-operation  among  the  Christians,  and  modern 
Bible-study  methods  of  teaching.  With  the  exception 
of  the  time  for  communion  service,  the  entire  Lord's 
Day  morning  has  been  given  up  to  the  work  of  the 
Bible  school.  The  evangelists  at  the  out-stations  have 
likewise  made  the  lesson  the  center  of  the  Sunday  serv- 
ice. Self-support  has  been  on  the  increase;  subscrip- 
tions at  the  annual  convention  nearly  doubled  those  of 
any  single  previous  year. 

The  Chinese  Church  cannot  fulfill  its  glorious   Needs  of  the 
mission  as    the  creator  of   the  new    China   unless   Church, 
its  nurture  is  as  carefully  planned  as  its  planting. 
For  the  American  Christian  to  feel  that  his  work 


150  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

is  done  would  be  a  fatal  error.  The  next  twenty 
years  are  critical,  they  demand  an  outpouring  of 
life  and  treasure  such  as  has  not  been  known. 
First, tKeKin-  In  China,  as  elsewhere,  the  child  is  the  key  to 
dergartens.  <^q  situatiou,  and  Jcsus  is  the  discoverer  of  the 
child.  An  evidence  of  the  I'ecognition  of  the 
importance  of  claiming  the  children  is  the  up- 
springing  of  kindergartens  everywhere. 

We  are  told  by  the  "Missionary  Intelligencer" 
of  Shanghai : — 

A  kindergarten  for  the  tiny  Chinese  boys  and  girls 
was  opened  early  in  the  year,  with  Mrs.  Shaw  in  charge. 
This  work  is  new  to  the  Chinese,  and  not  very  well 
understood  by  them,  so  it  was  most  encouraging  to 
have  ten  little  tots  make  their  appearance.  From  the 
first  they  were  so  interested  in  their  work  they  could 
scarcely  be  induced  to  go  home,  and  now  the  number 
has  increased  to  eighteen,  all  that  can  be  accommo- 
dated. The  mornings  are  devoted  to  regular  kindergar- 
ten work,  and  in  the  afternoon  the  children  receive  in- 
struction in  the  easy  Chinese  characters. 

Woman's  This  is  true  not  only  of  the  work  of  the  mission 

Board  of  Mis-  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Shanghai  but  of  other 
sions.  missions  in  other  cities  as  well.     Plans  for  a  union 

kindergarten  to  be  supported  and  taught  by  workers 
of  different  denominations  who  will  combine  for 
this  effort,  are  already  maturing.  It  is  expected 
that  the  outcome  will  be  a  kindergarten  of  the 
highest  grade  possible  to  provide  for  the  Foochow 
Mission,  from  which  trained  Chinese  workers 
will  be  sent  out  to  spread  this  beneficent  work 
among  children.      The  kindergarten  which  up  to 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       151 

this  time  has  been  the  work  of  the  Methodist 
Woman's  Board,  has  enrolled  over  fifty  mem- 
bers,— a  happy  flock  who  have  profited  greatly 
by  the  instruction  received  and  have  carried  the 
influence  into  many  homes.  At  the  Christmas 
entertainment  given  in  the  kindergarten  a  model 
of  Foochow  City  was  built  by  the  little  people 
by  the  use  of  blocks.  This  was  a  source  of 
great  wonder  and  interest  to  the  older  people  who 
came  to  look  on. 

This  work,  however,  is  often  carried  on  with  Souttern 
great  difficulty  because  of  lack  of  funds.  Many  Baptist, 
of  the  kindergartens  are  begun  because  of  a 
deeply  felt  need  of  the  neighborhood,  and  when 
the  thing  is  well  started  the  ladies  find  themselves 
compelled  to  close  the  school.  Notice  the  fol- 
lowing from  the  Southern  Baptist  women's 
report : —  • 

This  work  has  been  in  charge  of  Mrs.  Snuggs. 
Owing  to  having  no  suitable  building  and  other  difficul- 
ties, the  normal  kindergarten,  started  in  a  hired  build- 
ing, had  to  be  discontinued  the  last  half  of  the  year. 
In  one  of  the  Tung  Shan  Church  class  rooms  a  daily 
and  Sunday  kindergarten  has  been  held,  with  an  enroll- 
ment of  thirty-five  and  an  average  attendance  of  twenty- 
eight.  Five  of  the  pupils  have  been  baptized.  This  is 
a  new  but  very  important  branch  of  the  work.  What 
better  time  than  young  childhood  can  be  had  for  im- 
pressing a  child's  mind  and  heart?  For  real  success 
this  work  needs  a  suitable  building. 

For  a  long  time  the  American  Board  Mission   American 
had    been   planning   for   kindergarten   work   and   Board. 


152  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

carrying  it  on  as  best  they  could.  But  in  1910 
Miss  Vanderslice,  the  long-looked-for  kindergart- 
ner,  arrived  in  Peking.  There  is  a  growing  sense 
of  the  importance  of  this  training,  not  only  in 
Christian  circles,  but  throughout  the  city.  Mrs. 
Stelle,  who  organized  this  work  in  Peking,  has 
had  a  number  of  calls  from  young  men  who  were 
looking  into  the  subject.  One  of  these,  Mr. 
Yen,  son  of  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, has  a  private  school  for  the  training  of 
kindergartners.  The  Peking  kindergarten  was 
opened  in  October  with  an  enrollment  of  thirty- 
five.  The  Pangkiachuang  kindergarten  is  under 
the  care  of  a  former  schoolgirl,  who  had  but  a 
year  and  a  half  of  training  in  Peking.  She  has 
grown  with  her  work  and  her  love  has  won  love 
with  beautiful  results  upon  the  twelve  little 
people  who  are  her  special  charge. 
Social  Influ-  The  teaching  of  the  children  in  the  kindergar- 

ence  of  Chil-  ten  and  the  small  schools  has  important  social 
drens  Work,  influences  on  the  community.  In  our  own  part 
of  the  city,  when  we  went  out  for  a  walk,  the 
children  would  come  out  of  their  gate,  stare  at  us 
with  a  frightened  look  on  their  faces,  and  then 
turn  and  run  saying  in  a  frightened  tone,  "The 
devil's  coming. "  After  we  had  taught  them  in 
the  Sunday  school  and  day  schools,  when  they 
saw  us  coming  they  would  call  out,  "Teacher, 
when  is  the  Sabbath  day?" 

Pathetic  conditions,  however,  arise  in  many  of 
these  schools  and  kindergartens.      One  of  these 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       153 

is  seen  in  the  report  of  Miss  Lochie  Rankin  in 
her  report  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South.      She  says: — 

During  the  year  just  passed  one  vexing  problem  has  Needs. 
sadly  interfered  with  our  plans  for  model  class  work 
— viz.,  how  to  seat  eighty  girls  in  rooms  where  fifty 
were  barely  comfortaljle.  Buoyed  by  the  hope  that 
something  would  be  done  when  the  Bishop  came  to  give 
at  least  some  promise  of  relief,  we  improvised  class 
rooms,  using  the  veranda  and  summer  house.  But 
"  'twas  not  wisely  done."  It  was  all  very  w^ell  in  fair 
weather;  but  when  the  rain  and  frost  drove  all  indoors, 
teachers  and  pupils  suffered  to  such  an  extent  that  it 
seems  best  to  limit  the  number  of  pupils  in  Memphis 
School  to  fifty  until  one  more  class  room  is  added  to 
the  present  building. 

Are  we  to  leave  our  day  schools  without  build- 
ings, without  teachers,  without  funds  at  this 
critical  moment  when  girls  are  crowding  into  our 
presence.  For  years  we  have  been  praying  that 
the  doors  would  open,  shall  we  pray  now  for  door- 
keepers to  keep  them  shut,  or  shall  we  provide 
for  their  wider  opening.? 

When  missionary  work  began  in  China  atten-  Second,  Bibl« 
tion  was  quite  naturally  concentrated  upon  the  Women, 
men.  Women  were  for  the  most  part  illiterate. 
Chinese  customs  did  not  permit  them  to  sit  in 
mixed  assemblages;  it  was  difficult  for  men  to 
reach  them  with  the  gospel  message  The  result 
was  an  undue  proportion  of  men  in  the  member- 
ship of  the  churches.  A  few  years  ago,  Bishop 
Bashford,  noting  the  few  women  enrolled  as 
church  members,  felt  that  many  cases  of  arrested 
development   in   the    Christian   life   of  men,    and 


154 


CHINA'S  NE  W  DA  T 


The  Character 
of  Chinese 
Bible 
^Voman. 


many  cases  of  lapses  in  the  second  generation, 
could  be  traced  to  the  failure  to  reach  the  women. 
He  began  systematically  to  promote  the  evangeli- 
zation of  women  by  women  evangelists  and  the 
further  training  and  equipment  of  the  Chinese 
Bible  women  as  among  the  most  important  fac- 
tors in  the  Christianizing  of  China.  The  Meth- 
odists have  been  among  the  leaders  in  the  emphasis 
of  training  classes  and  schools  for  Bible  women, 
but  all  denominations  are  now  appreciating  the 
strategic  importance  of  the  Bible  woman,  and  the 
necessity  for  her  better  and  more  thorough  prepara- 
tion for  her  work. 

I  do  not  know  of  any  subject  that  I  should 
rather  study  thoroughly  than  the  Chinese  Bible 
woman,  just  for  a  study  in  sociology.  There  is 
about  the  Chinese  Bible  woman  all  the  interest 
that  there  is  to  the  Southerner  in  the  old 
"mammy"  of  the  slave  days.  But  in  addition 
she  is  a  preacher,  a  teacher,  a  nurse,  a  mother, 
a  prophetess  in  the  community, — in  many  cases  a 
heroine,  and  in  almost  every  instance  a  widow 
for  whom  there  is,  according  to  Chinese  ideas  of 
propriety,  no  second  marriage.  We  are  told  in 
the  books  for  girls,  in  the  enumeration  of  a  wife's 
virtues: — 

Tenth  and  last  that  I  wovild  offer 

Is,  be  cautioned  all  your  life; 
Once  you  marry  'tis  forever, 

Once  you  may  become  a  wife. 
Three  dependencies,  four  virtues, 

Let  them  all  be  perfect,  then 
Who  can  say  that  mongst  our  women, 

There  are  no  "superior  men"? 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       155 

Many  of  these  Bible  women  are  chiin  tzus^ 
"superior  men"  or  sages,  as  it  is  usually  trans- 
lated in  the  classics.  Every  mission  has  them. 
I  venture  to  assert  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  a  mission  that  had  been  established  for  a 
dozen,  or  a  score  of  years,  in  China  that  did  not 
have  its  Bible  woman,  who  was  one  of  the  char- 
acters of  the  city,  town  or  neighborhood,  and 
always  a  blessing  to  Christians  and  non-Christians 
alike. 

Take  for  instance 

Aunt    Hi  an  Tte  Story  of 

of  the  Reformed   Church  as  told   by  Miss  Nellie   Aunt  Hian. 
Zwemer.     She  says: — 

The  first  time  1  saw  Aunt  Hian  was  nearly  fourteen 
years  ago  at  our  Taw-kio  Chapel.  After  the  woman's 
meeting  I  announced  that  our  class  for  women  would 
open  the  next  Monday,  and  I  invited  all  who  wished  to 
learn  to  read  and  understand  the  way  of  salvation  to  let 
me  know  if  they  could  come.  Aunt  Hian  was  then 
nearly  seventy  years  old,  a  tall,  thin  woman  with  a 
bright  face,  but  half-closed  sore  eyes.  She  prostrated 
herself  before  me  as  she  would  before  an  idol  and 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  come  to  our  class.  After  I 
had  persuaded  her  to  rise,  I  told  her  I  feared  she  was 
too  old  and  her  eyesight  too  poor  to  learn  to  read,  but 
if  she  came  to  church  and  listened  well  and  learned  to 
pray  that  would  do  for  her.  But  on  Monday  forenoon 
Aunt  Hian  appeared.  She  had  walked  a  long  distance, 
and  was  so  determined  to  stay  that  I  let  her  remain, 
thinking  it  would  help  her  to  listen  for  a  few  days  to 
the  Bible  lessons  and  to  learn  a  few  texts  and  hymns, 
but  she  was  not  content  with  that,  and  wanted  a  primer 
so  that  she,  too,  could  learn  to  read  "God's  letter,"  as 


156  CHINA'S  A'BIV  DAT 

she  had  heard  some  one  call  the  Bible.  I  gave  her  the 
primer  to  humor  her,  but  did  not  intend  to  spend  much 
time  teaching  her.  She,  however,  always  stood  at  my 
side  when  I  taught  others,  and  to  my  surprise  knew  her 
lessons  as  well  as  anyone.  She  always  studied  aloud, 
and  when  she  came  to  a  difficult  word  would, kneel  and 
say,  "This  is  too  hard  for  me.  Holy  Spirit,  help  me 
remember."  Often  at  six  in  the  morning  I  would  hear 
her  spell  her  lesson  as  she  sat  on  the  church  steps  below 
my  window. 

We  have  a  little  book  called  "Daily  Manna,"  which 
has  a  Bible  text,  a  short  explanation  of  it,  and  a  short 
prayer  on  each  page.  When  she  had  finished  her  primer 
I  helped  her  spell  the  words  of  the  first  text,  and  then 
showed  her  the  book  and  told  her  to  read,  which  she 
did  well.  Then  I  said,  "Now  you  have  read  part  of 
'God's  letter.'  This  is  a  verse  from  the  Bible."  Her 
joy  and  gratitude  touched  and  rebuked  me,  who  had 
been  able  to  read  God's  Word  all  these  years.  She  knelt 
on  the  floor  and  most  fervently  thanked  God  for  helping 
her  to  learn  to  read.  She  made  rapid  progress  after 
that,  and  besides  her  New  Testament  she  has  read  many 
other  books,  and  she  reads  v^ell. 

One  of  the  pictures  I  love  to  store  in  my  memory 
is  seeing  her  one  day,  when  I  passed  through  her  vil- 
lage, sitting  in  her  doorway  reading  one  of  Clirist's 
parables  to  a  group  of  heathen  children. 

Or  who  of  all  the  members  of  the  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist 
Church  does  not  know 

Old   Motpier   Wang, 

Old  Mother      of  the    little    village    of    Anchia,    in    Shantung.? 

Wang.  Now  the  name  Wang  is  as  common   in   China  as 

Smith   is   in  America,  and  yet  there   is  but  one 

"Old   Mother  Wang"  to  any   Methodist  woman. 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       157 

Her  husband,  a  graduate  of  the  first  degree, 
went  to  Peking  to  get  his  second.  Failing  in 
this,  he  dropped  into  the  street  chapel  and  was 
converted.  He  became  a  chapel  keeper,  a 
preacher,  and  in  a  few  months  took  a  cartload  of 
Christian  books  and  returned  home.  He  began 
preaching  and  selling  books.  His  first  work, 
however,  was  with  his  own  family,  for  he  held 
that  if  he  could  not  get  them  to  believe,  he  could 
not  persuade  his  neighbors  to  accept  the  doctrine. 

He  had  family  prayers.  He  could  not  sing  so 
he  read  the  hymns.      Once  while  reading, — 

Ye  who  seek  the  throne  of  grace 
Do  not  delay, 

Mrs.  Wang  understood  it  to  mean,  for  the  sounds 
were  the  same,  do  not  use  tobacco.  She  smoked. 
Almost  all  Chinese  women  do.  But  she  said  to 
herself,  if  I  can't  smoke  and  go  to  heaven  I'll 
put  away  my  pipe.  She  concluded  also  that 
what  was  good  for  her  was  good  for  her  neigh- 
bors, and  she  induced  them  to  give  up  their 
pipes,  and  gathering  some  fuel  they  had  a  bonfire. 

Her  husband  being  a  consumptive  lived  only 
three  years  after  he  was  converted,  but  in  that 
time  he  had  established  the  church  in  his  own 
home  as  well  as  in  many  of  the  surrounding  vil- 
lages. After  his  death  Mrs.  Wang  went  to  her 
son  and  said,  "I  am  going  to  Peking  to  study  in 
the  woman's  training  school  and  then  come  back 
and  take  up  your  father's  work." 

He  took  her  to  Peking,  and,  while  she  studied 


158  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

with  the   women,  he  was  at   work   in  the   boys' 
school. 

One  day  she  inquired  of  the  gatekeeper  the 
pronunciation  of  a  certain  Chinese  character. 

"Why  that  is  Wang  your  own  name,",  he  ans- 
wered. "You  are  too  old  and  stupid  to  learn," 
he  continued.  And  Mrs.  Wang  added,  "I 
thought  1  was." 

But  she  was  so  diligent  that  in  two  years  she 
could  read  the  Gospels,  and  she  ordered  the  boy 
to  take  her  home. 

They  started  in  a  Chinese  cart,  but  before  they 
had  gone  ten  miles  the  cart  upset,  the  old  woman 
became   frightened,    and   would    not   get    in   the 
cart  again. 
A  Wheel-  The  son  dismissed  the  cart,  hired   a  wheelbar- 

barrow  Ride,  j-q^^^  p^t  his  mother  on  one  side,  their  bedding 
and  clothing  on  the  other,  and  wheeled  her  four 
hundred  miles  to  her  home,  in  order  that  she 
might  take  up  her  husband's  work. 

For  thirty  years  or  more  she  has  been  going 
about  among  the  country  villages  selling  books, 
preaching  and  teaching  the  women,  and  when  she 
was  eighty  years  old  she  made  the  trip  from  Shan- 
tung to  Peking,  a  distance  of  four  hundred  miles, 
in  a  Chinese  cart  to  ask  Mrs.  Headland  to  take 
her  in  and  let  her  preach  to  the  Empress  Dowager. 

"Because,"  she  said,  and  her  hands  shook  as 
her  voice  did,  "because  I  am  so  old,  it  may  be 
the  Empress  Dowager  will  listen  to  the  gospel 
from  my  lips. " 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       159 

But  it  was  not  possible  to  take  her  in,  as  no 
Chinese  woman  was  allowed  at  the  Manchu 
Court,  and  Mother  Wang  had  to  return  disap- 
pointed to  her  home. 

A  few  years  ago  when  Miss  Clara  Cushman 
returned  to  China  after  an  absence  of  nearly 
twenty  years  she  cabled  Old  Mother  Wang  not  to 
go  to  heaven  till  she  arrived.  And  the  old 
woman  waited.  And  the  next  picture  that  came 
back  from  China  was  Clara  Cushman,  seated  on 
the  ground  at  the  feet  of  Old  Mother  Wang. 

They  are  good  old  saints — many  of  these  Bible 
women ! 

One  of  the  places  where  the  Bible  women  are  Bible  Women 

indispensable  is  in  the  Sunday  schools.     All  the  '°  Sunday 

s  ii    1 
larger  girls  and  boys  of  the  schools  and   colleges 

are  used  as  teachers,  and  are  thus  trained  for 
Christian  work,  when  they  have  completed  their 
studies.  It  is  a  Bible  training  school  in  which 
they  are  taught  to  sing,  pray,  preach  and  teach, 
and  help  others  to  do  the  same,  and  the  most  im- 
portant of  all  is  the  help  they  give  to  the  others. 
It  fixes  the  facts  in  their  own  minds,  teaches 
them  how  to  impart  them,  and  gives  them  a  taste 
of  a  profession.  Better  than  this,  they  are  often 
instrumental  in  leading  their  schoolmates  or 
others  to  a  knowledge  of  salvation. 

The  third  need  of  the   Chinese  church    is   the  Third,  tKe 
strengthening  of  the   Sunday  school,  particularly   Sunday 
as  an  evangelistic  agency.      In  too  many  cases  the  School. 
Sunday  school   has  been  maintained   as  a  church 


160  CHINAS  NEW  DAI 

agency  largely  for  the  nurture  of  the  children  of 
Christian  parents.     It  is  capable  of  far  wider  uses, 
already    being  tried    in    several    instances.      For 
example  here  is  the  story  of  one. 
A  Heathen  A     dozen     little    children    wandered    into    the 

Sunday  regular  moniing  Sunday  school.      Being  too   ig- 

norant to  go  into  the  regular  classes  they  were 
taken  by  the  ladies  into' a  little  room  not  con- 
nected with  the  chvirch,  and  given  a  picture  card, 
over  the  advertisement  on  the  back  of  which  they 
had  pasted  a  sheet  on  which  were  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments. The  children  w^ere  promised  that 
when  they  had  learned  them  they  would  get 
another  card. 

The  next  Sunday  they  were  ready  for  another 
card  with  a  company  of  other  children  they  had 
brought  with  them. 

"But  where  are  we  going  to  put  you?"  the 
teachers  asked.  "The  room  is  not  big  enough 
to  hold  you." 

"  Wai  tou — outside,"   exclaimed  the  children. 

There  was  all  out  of   doors,  why  talk  of  room. 

"We  will  knock  out  a  partition,"  said  the 
ladies,  "and  double  the  size  of  the  room,"  and 
they  gave  them  a  card  with  the  Lord's  Prayer  on 
it. 

The  next  Sunday  that  was  too  small,  and  they 
had  to  knock  down  another  partition,  and  this 
Sunday  they  gave  them  a  card  with  a  hymn, — 

Around  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven 
Ten  thousand  children  stand. 


Taoist  Priest 


American  Board 


THE   CHINESE    CHURCH       161 

As  I  came  along  the  street  during'  the' following 
week  I  heard  a  lot  of  little  folks  in  the  police  station 
singing  this  hymn. 

One  morning  when  they  came  the  ladies  were 
embarrassed. 

"We  have  no  room  that  is  large  enough, "  they 
explained,  "you  must  come  in  the  afternoon  at 
two  o'clock." 

The  next  vSunday  at  twelve  o'clock  the  alley 
was  full  of  children.  They  had  no  clock  in 
their  homes,  and  for  two  hours  they  were  packed 
in  about  the  gate  like  so  many  little  sardines,  and 
it  was  not  many  wrecks  until  the  church  was 
crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity,  with  more  than 
five  hundred  little  tots  and  their  teachers. 

What  should  be  done?  One  of  the  ladies  wrote 
home  saying,  "Our  old  church  is  falling  down. 
We  have  it  propped  up  both  inside  and  out.  We 
want  $10,000  dollars  to  build  a  church  that  will 
hold  fifteen  hundred  people." 

The  secretary  told  them  to  go  ahead.  The 
church  was  built,  and  it  was  not  long  until  there 
were  fifteen  hundred  little  half-naked  bits  of  hu- 
manity— some  of  them  entirely  naked — filling  the 
street  in  front  of  the  church. 

But  that  school  changed  the  sentiment  of  that 
entire  section  of  the  city.  Where  formerly  the 
missionaries  were  reviled  when  they  went  out 
to  ride  or  walk,  the  little  folks  now  met  them 
with  smiling  faces  and  always  greeted  them  with, 
"Teacher,  when  is  the  Sabbath  day.''" 


162 


CHINAS  NEW  DAY 


Fourtt,  Evan- 
gelism by 
CKinese 
W^orkers. 


Pastor  Ding. 


Another  need  of  the  church  is  the  development 
of  a  fervent  evangelistic  spirit.  This  revival  has 
already  started  almost  spontaneously  in  various 
parts  of  the  empire.  I  have  already  referred  to 
the  work  of  Miss  Yu  in  Shanghai.  In  Shantung 
it  started  with  a  young  Presbyterian  pastor,  a  Mr. 
Ding,  a  graduate  of  the  college  at  Weihsien,  but 
the  quotation  given  below  is  of  his  work  in  the 
Union  College  at  Tung-chou  under  the  American 
Board.      It  says: — 

At  the  end  of  the  second  day  visible  results  began  to 
appear  and  seventeen  joung  men  announced  their  in- 
tention to  give  their  lives  to  the  ministry.  This  number 
grew  daily,  until  on  the  day  of  Mr.  Ding's  departure 
sixty-eight  volunteers  for  the  ministry  joined  hands 
with  him  in  a  great  circle  and  received  his  parting  ad- 
vice and  benediction.  Fifty  others  in  a  similar  way  de- 
clared the  consecration  of  their  whole  lives  to  God  in 
whatever  calling  he  might  place  them.  The  volunteer 
band  has  now  increased  to  over  seventy.  Twenty-three 
students  have  united  with  the  local  church  on  profession 
of  their  faith.  This  means  that  practically  our  whole 
student  body  of  one  hundred  and  forty-five  boys  has 
been  deeply  moved. 

A  similar  enthusiastic  report  comes  from  both 
the  president  of  the  Peking  University  and  that 
of  the  girls'  high  school,  while  Bishop  Bashford 
writes: — 

During  the  recent  revival  under  Mr.  Ding,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-three  young  men  signed  a  solemn  cov- 
enant with  each  other  and  with  God,  pledging  their 
lives  for  the  evangelization  of  China  through  some 
form  of  distinctively  Christian  work;  this  is  the  largest 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       163 

volunteer  band  to  be  found  in  any  college  in  the  pagan 
world,  if  not  in  any  college  in  Christian  lands.  Of 
equal  importance  is  the  fact  that  from  our  girls'  school 
on  the  adjoining  compound,  during  the  same  revival, 
one  hundred  and  sixty-six  young  women  consecrated 
their  lives  to  Christian  service  by  a  similar  covenant. 
//  is  of  immeasurable  importance  in  pagan  lands  that 
young  men  consecrating  their  lives  to  the  evangelization 
of  the  empire  should  find  Christian  -wives  and  found 
Christian  homes:  for  the  family,  and  not  the  individual 
is  the  unit  of  society  in  China,  and  also  in  the  divine 
order. 

A  pastor  in  Ichou-fii,  West  Shantung,  writes  in 
regard  to  IVIr.  Ding's  work  as  follows: — 

In  April,  1909,  a  remarkable  movement  began  among  SfuJ-_*  R.. 
the  students  of  the  Arts'  College  of  the  Shantung  ^\^^  j^ 
Christian  University.  The  claims  of  the  Christian  gi  .  . 
ministry  were  presented  to  the  young  men  by  Rev.  Ding 
Lee  May,  a  Chinese  pastor.  China's  need  of  the 
gospel,  the  poverty  of  the  church,  her  need  of  leader- 
ship, the  call  of  Christ  were  dwelt  upon.  First,  seven 
of  the  seniors,  the  flower  of  the  class,  gave  their  lives 
to  the  ministry,  though  they  well  knew  that  this  meant 
turning  their  backs  on  the  brilliant  official  careers  open 
to  the  possessors  of  the  new  Western  learning,  and  the 
acceptance  instead  of  poverty  and  obscurity.  The 
number  of  volunteers  increased  to  twenty,  to  thirty,  to 
sixty,  to  eighty,  until  out  of  a  student  body  numbering 
three  hundred,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  men  had 
definitely  given  themselves  to  the  Christian  ministry. 
There  was  no  excitement,  no  outward  manifestation  of 
emotion,  but  a  deep  consciousness  of  the  presence  of 
the  spirit  of  God. 

But  the  most  remarkable  of  all  the  revivals  in  Revival  at 
China  during  the  past  ten  years  began  in  the  Hing  Hua. 
southwest  of  the  Fukien  Province  at   Hing  Hua, 


164 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 


Extended 
Chinese  Re- 
vivals. 


Ne-vi'  Devel- 
opments: 


v\ithout  any  foreign  leader,  and  without  any  great 
Chinese  leader  coming  to  the  front,  but  where 
spontaneously  the  Chinese  were  moved  to  gather 
in  crowds  of  thousands  for  a  month  or  more,  con- 
fessing sins,  seeking  salvation,  and  settling  old 
scores  with  neighbors. 

There  are  two  foreigners  who  have  taken  posi- 
tions of  leadership  in  this  revival  work, — Rev. 
Dr.  J.  H.  Pyke  of  the  Methodist  Mission  in 
North  China,  and  Mr.  Goforth  of  the  Canadian 
Presbyterian  Mission  in  Honan. 

Mr.  Goforth,  who  has  a  fluent  command  of 
Chinese,  conducted  evangelistic  services  intwenty- 
eight  centers,  everywhere  with  marked  demon- 
strations of  the  Spirit.  In  Nanking  fifteen  hundred 
crowded  into  a  tent  made  to  hold  twelve  hundred. 
The  impassive  Chinese  broke  down  in  scenes  of 
confession  and  contrition  such  as  were  witnessed 
in  revivals  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury in  the  United  States.  In  Kai-ting  in  West 
China  so  marked  w^ere  the  changes  wrought  in  the 
life  of  converts  that  non-Christians  on  the  street 
said,  "The  Christian's  God  has  come  down." 

Other  remarkable  revivals  were  held.  In  Hing 
Hua  the  members  of  a  firm  that  imported  opium 
were  converted.  They  brought  their  entire  stock 
to  the  pastor  to  be  destroyed.  A  throng  of  a 
thousand  attended  the  meetings. 

Carried  on  in  close  connection  with  the  evangelistic 
work  in  Peking  is  the  comparatively  recently  established 
social  work.     The  North    Church    is  now  reaping  some 


THE   CHINESE.  CHURCH  '    165 

of  the  seed  sown  during  the  last  six  years  in  the  lecture 
room  work.  One  family  of  seven  adult  members  has 
come  into  the  church  as  the  result  of  one  woman  drop- 
ping into  the  lecture  room  one  afternoon.  Last  year  it  Lecture 
was  decided  to  change  the  character  of  the  lectures  a  Courses, 
little;  three  days  in  the  month  lectures  are  now  given 
on  religion,  and  three  days  on  secular  subjects.  The 
change  was  made  with  some  apprehension,  but  the 
women  did  not  take  any  exception  to  it,  and  have  come 
quite  as  often  to  the  one  as  the  other. 

In  the  autumn  or  early  winter,  representatives  of  the 
five  missions  working  in  Peking  came  together  and 
made  plans  for  a  series  of  lectures  to  be  given  during 
the  next  six  months.  Twelve  places  were  selected,  and 
arrangements  made  for  fifty  lectures  on  popular  and 
interesting  themes  for  women.  These  lectures  have 
brought  hundreds  of  women  all  over  the  city  into  touch 
with  the  Christian  Church.  In  two  chapels  these  lectures 
have  been  followed  by  two  weeks'  evangelistic  services. 

The  workers  in  Peking  have  given  much  thought  to  Social  Hall  in 
the  question  of  how  best  to  come  into  helpful  touch  Peking, 
with  large  classes  of  women.  The  past  year  a  "Social 
Hall"  has  been  opened  with  this  need  in  mind.  As 
Christian  workers  we  have  a  duty  in  teaching  how  to 
co-operate  in  work  for  city  and  individual  improve- 
ment. In  this  hall  could  be  held  receptions  for  Chinese 
ladies,  and  five  ladies  are  studying  in  afternoon  classes. 
One  of  the  pleasantest  receptions  was  that  given  for 
the  lady  teachers  of  the  American  Indemnity  School 
to  meet  those  in  government,  private  and  Christian 
schools  for  girls.  Another  unique  event  was  an  anti- 
cigarette  rally,  when  teachers  and  students  from  twenty- 
one  schools  were  represented. 

If    the   Chinese    church    is    to   win   China   for 
Christ    she    must    be    able    to    enlist    the    whole- 


166    •  CHINAS  NEW  DA  7' 

Fifth.  Reach-  hearted  devotion  of  the  student  class,  both  men 
ing  the  Stu-  and  women.  In  this  she  is  being  tremendously 
dent  Class.  helped  by  the  student  secretaries  sent  out  by  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  These  have 
access  to  student  in  both  missionary  and  -govern- 
ment institutions,  and  have  already  aroused  great 
interest  in  Bible  study  and  succeeded  in  enlisting 
some  of  the  strongest  men  and  women. 

ILLUSTRATIVE  QUOTATIONS 
"Japan  is  too  poor  and  too  small  to  help  China 
either  in  finance  or  war,  and  her  people  are  so  immoral 
that  contact  with  them  would  be  harmful  rather  than 
helpful  to  the  Chinese.  China  wants  the  best  there  is 
in  the  world,  and  as  all  nations  are  now  open  to  her 
she  can  get  the  best.  Why  should  we  take  ideas  from 
Japan  when  the  difference  between  China  and  Japan  and 
China  and  America  is  only  the  difference  between  six 
and  fourteen  days."     (Eminent  Chinese  Official.) 

Progress  of  "^"    \%Wl    there    were    less    than    100,000    Protestant 

Christian  Christians  in  China.     The  stations  were  many  of    them 

■^j,j.jj_  in    ruins,    the     women    missionaries    were    huddled     in 

Peking,  while  the  men  in  temporary  quarters  in  the 
various  centers  tried  to  see  what  was  left  of  the  wrecked 
missions.  The  survivors  of  the  awful  massacres  were 
scattered  and  depressed  and  poverty-stricken.  Hostile 
critics  at  home  were  asserting  that  missionary  work  in 
China  was  utterly  ruined  and  that  no  Chinese  would 
ever  again  embrace  Christianity.  The  Chinese  seemed 
sullen  and  ugly. 

"To-day  the  destroyed  stations  are  all  rebuilt  and 
enlarged,  new  buildings  have  been  added,  missionaries, 
both  men  and  women,  travel  safely  in  every  part  of  the 
country.  More  Chinese  have  been  baptized  in  eight 
years    than    in    the    fifty  preceding.     The  communicant 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       167 

membership  of  the  church  has  risen  (1907)  to  180,000, 
which  means  a  Christian  community  of  640,000,  besides 
120,000  children  and  young  people  growing  up  in  the 
same  holy  fellowship."  (Condensed  from  Arthur  J. 
Brown. ) 

"It  is  at  this  point  (the  inability  to  be 'true  to  the 
highest  moral  consciousness  within  them')  that  the 
regeneration  of  China  fails  at  present,  and  will  continue 
to  fail  until  some  new  spiritual  regeneration  comes  to 
affect  the  nation  itself."  (Col.  C.  D.  Bruce,  the  head 
of  Shanghai's  efficient  police  department.) 

"So  the  meetings  began.  Pastor  Ding  is  an  excep-  Description  of 
tional  character.  He  is  humble  and  modest  where  one  a  Chinese  Re- 
feels  that  one  might  be  proud;  so  gracious  and  full  of  vival. 
tact  that  we  foreigners,  when  with  him,  forget  that  he 
is  a  Chinese.  When  he  speaks  in  the  pulpit,  you  do  not 
see  the  man;  you  only  feel  the  earnestness  of  his  words. 
From  the  first,  the  people  were  attracted  by  his  simple 
eloquence.  Day  after  day  the  number  grew,  until  they 
taxed  the  utmost  capacity  of  our  new  church.  Meet- 
ings were  held  four  times  a  day.  On  the  third  day,  op- 
portunities were  given  to  those  who  wished  to  study  the 
gospel  to  come  forward  while  their  names  were  recorded. 
Eighty-two  responded.  At  all  the  succeeding  meetings, 
names  were  added.  The  Christians  began  to  work — the 
children  to  bring  in  their  playmates,  the  laborers  their 
friends,  the  students  their  classmates,  and  the  rich  their 
companions.  They  could  not  all  come  forward,  and  so 
individuals  were  given  paper  and  pencil  to  take  the 
names  throughout  the  congregation.  The  number 
reached  865.  After  a  few  more  days,  the  enrollment 
reached  1,000;  and  still  the  number  grew  until  it  stood 
at  over  1,400. 

"It  is  hard  to  realize  just  what  these  figures  stand 
for;  we  ourselves  cannot  tell.  They  are  not  converts, 
such  as  you  have  in  America,  but  only  just   wanting   to 


168 


CHINA'S  NBW  DAT 


A  Simple 
Christian. 


learn  the  way  which  leads  to  salvation.  It  is  a  great 
step  in  advance  of  the  indifference  which  has  liitherto 
prevailed.  Only  a  small  per  cent  of  the  whole  are 
women,  largely  because  women  cannot  attend  public 
meetings  as  men  do,  while  many  who  might  have  come 
could  not  get  through  the  mud  with  their  bound  feet. 

"It'is  seldom  given  to  missionaries  to  see  art  ingath- 
ering like  this,  far  beyond  one's  greatest  hope.  It 
looms  up  like  a  great  mystery,  holding  us  in  awe  and 
having  but  one  solution:  'Not  by  might,  not  by  power, 
but  by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord.'  Will  those  at  home 
remember  these  inquirers  in  prayer  that  the  grace  of 
the  Lord  may  abound  unto  them?" 

"A  committee  of  Chinese  pastors  and  elders  were 
examining  candidates  for  church  membership  in  an  out- 
station  of  Tengchow.  An  old  woman  almost  blind  ap- 
peared before  them.  Her  son  is  an  earnest  evangelist, 
but  not  often  able  to  go  home  to  his  old  mother.  Pastor 
Chang  asked  her  how  many  gods  there  were,  whether 
she  kept  the  Sabbath,  etc.,  to  which  satisfactory  answers 
wfere  received.  Then  came  the  question,  'What  do  you 
know  about  the  doctrine?'  The  poor  old  lady  answered 
slowly,  'I  do  not  know  anything;  my  son  comes  once  a 
year  and  tells  me,  but  I  forget.  I  cannot  see  well.  I 
cannot    read.        There  is  no  one   in  our   villaoe   to   teach 


"  'Do  you  trust  Jesus?'  The  face  brightens.  'Trust 
Jesus?  Oh,  yes!'  'Are  you  sure  you  trust  Him?'  A 
look  of  wonder  comes  in  the  face.  'Why,  yes,  I  trust 
Jesus;  that  is  all  I  know.'  " 

"Native  "Two  phrases    have    long  been  current    in  missionary 

Amenta."  literature  and  correspondence.    They  are  'native  agents' 

and  native  helpers.  .  .  .  We  have  come  now  to  a  point 
in  Japan,  China  and  India  .  .  .  where  we  should  not 
only  abandon  this  terminology  but  the  whole  attitude 
of  mind  of  which  it  is  the  expression. 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH 


16S 


"We  cannot  always  keep  the  churches  of  Asia  in 
leading  strings,  and  we  ought  not  to  do  so.  We  must 
trust  them  and  help  to  put  them  on  their  feet.    .    .   . 

"The  more  I  see  of  the  Christians  in  Asia,  the  more 
I  respect  them.  In  these  countries  (China  and  Korea), 
the  Christians,  as  a  class,  have  come  from  the  lower 
strata  of  society.  I  do  not  mean  the  very  lowest,  nor 
am  I  unmindful  that  some  of  the  Christians  are  men 
and  women  of  the  upper  classes  .  .  .  the  Chinese  com- 
municants are,  as  a  rule,  small  farmers  or  shopkeepers. 
Few  in  either  China  or  Korea  had  any  education  or 
social  advantages  prior  to  their  baptism.  Pastors, 
elders,  evangelists  and  teachers  have  been  taken  from 
this  level.  .  .  .  Our  schools  and  colleges  are  now  turn- 
ing out  more  highly  educated  men,  but  most  of  the 
leaders  of  the  native  churches  still  belong  to  the  first 
generation  of  Christians,  and  had  little  education  in 
youth  or  until  they  were  converted.  But  in  our  con- 
ferences these  men  discussed  large  questions  with  intel- 
ligence, courtesy  and  dignity.  Sound  opinions  were 
expressed  and  ably  advocated.   .   .    . 

"These  Christians  are  often  mighty  in  prayer.  A 
missionary  writes  of  the  two  Chinese  pastors  in  his 
station:  'The  prayerfulness  and  pastoral  spirit  of  these 
leaders  have  been  a  rebuke  and  an  inspiration  to  me. 
Their  conversation  is  usually  on  the  Scriptures,  the 
passages  of  which  they  can  find  better  than  any  foreigner 
I  know;  and  their  thoughts  are  much  on  the  problems 
of  the  little  groups  of  Christians.  Often  on  the  road 
we  have  stopped  and  prayed  specifically  for  what  the 
leaders  had  jotted  down  of  definite  petitions  for  par- 
ticular needs.  The  reality,  sincerity  and  naturalness  of 
their  prayers,  both  in  thanksgiving  and  petition,  have 
impressed  me.  Men  who  are  not  living  in  the  Spirit 
cannot  "get  up"  such  prayers  as  they  pray  all  the 
time.' 


Spiritual 
Christians. 


170 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 


Endurance 

and 

Fidelity. 


Resemblance 
to  Early 
Christians. 


"Many  of  these  men,  too,  endure  hardness  for  Christ. 
Thej  do  not  have  the  mental  and  financial  support  of 
the  foreigner.  No  great  body  of  influential  people  in 
other  lands  holds  up  their  hands.  They  stand  alone, 
not  only  in  their  social  and  business  relations  but  some- 
times in  their  own  families.  They  stand,  too,  as  a  rule, 
in  such  poverty  as  we  but  faintly  imagine,  with  only 
the  barest  necessities  of  physical  life  and  few  if  any  of 
its  comforts.  But  they  manifest  a  fidelity  and  courage 
and  loving  devotion  to  Christ  which  deeply  move  me. 
If,  as  Amiel  said,  'the  test  of  every  religious,  political 
or  educational  system  is  the  man  which  it  forms,' 
Christianity  is  meeting  the  test  in  Asia.  These  men 
are  our  brethren.  They  are  doing,  to  say  the  least, 
quite  as  well  as  any  of  us  would  do  in  similar  circum- 
stances. Let  us  honor  them  and  trust  them.  Let  us 
not  call  them  any  longer  our  'agents'  or  'helpers,'  but 
our  co-workers  and  friends. 

"I  felt  anew  in  this  tour  that  the  scattered  churches 
in  Asia  to-day  are  in  about  the  same  position  as  the 
churches  of  the  first  century  to  which  the  inspired 
writers  addressed  their  epistles.  They,  too,  were  poor 
and  lowly  people  in  the  midst  of  a  scoffing  and  hostile 
world.  The  rich  and  the  great  heeded  them  not,  and 
fidelity  to  Christ  often  meant  loss  of  occupation  and 
persecution  which  were  hard  to  bear.  To  them  the 
Apostles  wrote,  expressing  the  affection  which  they  had 
for  those  early  Christians,  their  anxiety  as  they  con- 
sidered the  temptations  and  problems  which  they  were 
facing,  and  yet  their  absolute  confidence  that  God  would 
guide  his  people  aright.  The  Apostles  could  hardly 
have  written  differently  if  they  had  directly  addressed 
the  churches  of  Asia  in  the  twentieth  century.  The  little 
companies  of  believers  at  Philippi  and  Colosse,  Corinth 
and  Ephesus,  and  the  sojourners  of  the  dispersion  in 
Asia  Minor  are  reproduced  to-day  in  the  churches  of 
China,  Japan  and   Korea."     (Arthur  J.  Brown.) 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       171 

THE    NEW    CHINESE    HERO 

"  'A  memorial  meeting  was  held  day  before  yesterday 
for  two  students  that  were  killed  in  the  fighting  a  lew 
weeks  ago.  The  head  of  the  board  of  communications, 
who  is  a  strong  Christian  man,  presided  at  the  meeting, 
and  some  say  that  it  was  almost  an  evangelistic  meet- 
ing. Three  Chinese  women  (I!)  made  speeches  that 
stirred  the  audience  of  several  thousand  people.  That 
meeting  is  a  wonderful  thing  for  China.  Heretofore 
very  little  honor,  if  any,  has  been  given  to  men  who 
lost  their  lives  in  the  struggle  for  better  things.  The 
living  have  cared  little  for  men  of  this  heroic  kind. 
Now  there  will  be  honor  given  to  those  who  die  for 
their  country.' 

"  The  letter  from  which  the  above  extract  was  taken, 
goes  on  to  speak  of  the  remarkable  part  which  native 
Christians  are  playing  in  the  new  government.  The 
writer  says:  'I  think  I  told  you  in  my  last  that  quite  a 
number  of  the  new  officers  in  the  Foochow  government 
are  Christians.  Of  the  five  boards  now  organized  four 
boards  have  Christians  as  presidents.  One  board  is 
divided  into  three  sub-boards,  and  of  these  two  vice 
presidents  are  Christians.  It  really  seems  as  if  the  op- 
portunity for  Christianity  was  never  as  great  as  it  is 
now.  Several  prominent  men  are  quoted  as  saying  in 
public  speeches  that  nothing  but  Christianity  will  do 
for  China  now. ' 

"  The  officers  in  many  of  the  other  provisional  govern- 
ments are  Christians  or  in  sympathy  with  Christianity, 
and  President  Sun  Yat  Sen  himself  is  an  earnest  Chris- 
tian, baptized  many  years  ago  in  Canton  by  a  mission- 
ary of  the  American  Board.  One  or  two  members  of 
his  cabinet  share  his  faith.  If  anyone  had  predicted 
this  twelve  years  ago  he  would  have  been  called  a  mad- 
man. Nothing  shows  more  strikingly  how  far  China 
has  traveled  since  the  days  of  the  Boxer  rising  and  the 
massacre  of    Christians    at    Taiyuanfu.     At   the    latter 


172  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

place,  indeed,  the  people  have  just  appointed  a  native 
Christian  as  head  of  the  police  force,  to  devise  measures 
for  their  protection,  which  the  Manchu  officials  are  no 
longer  able  to  afford."      ("Boston  Transcript;") 

"Let  us  consider  that  a  hundred  years  ago  there  was 
not  a  Protestant  Christian  in  China,  and  that  now  there 
are  a  hundred  thousand,  and  that  the  great  mass  of 
these  have  been  enrolled  during  the  last  fifty  years.  If 
they  progress  during  the  next  century  in  the  ever-mul- 
tiplying numbers  of  a  geometrical  progression,  as  they 
have  done  in  the  past,  before  long,  this  new  section  of 
the  body  politic  will  necessarily  make  itself  felt  in  the 
counsels  of  China.  This  ever-increasing  element  of 
Christianity,  under  whose  fostering  care  nearly  all  the 
material  progress  the  country  has  ever  made  in  recent 
years  has  had  its  inception,  is  not  to  be  despised  nor 
overlooked  in  prognostications  of   the  future. 

"The  little  white  stone  of  Western  progress  and 
Christianity  has  been  cast  into  the  well-nigh  stagnant 
pool  of  Chinese  thought,  and  it  has  sunk  deep  into  its 
very  heart,  unseen  to  a  great  extent  in  its  progress ;  but 
its  influence  is  making  itself  visible  on  the  surface  in 
ever-increasing  ripples,  which  are  extending  far  and 
wide,  and    have   not  yet   reached   their   limit. 

"Had  Protestant  missionaries  done  nothing  else  in 
China  than  prepared  and  published  the  books  issued  by 
them  in  Chinese  ;  started  the  schools  ;  written  the  books 
in  English,  containing  narratives  of  their  own  travels, 
and  accounts  of  the  natives,  and  of  their  religious  cus- 
toms and  manners  ;  translated  native  works  ;  instructed 
the  youth  of  both  sexes ;  and  founded  hospitals  and 
dispensaries — had  these,  we  say,  been  the  only  things 
accomplished  by  Protestant  missionaries,  they  would 
have  done  a  noble  work;  but  added  to  all  these  more 
secular  labours  is  the  directly  religious  work  of  preach- 
ing  the  gospel,  tract   and    Bible    distribution,  visiting, 


THE   CHINESE   CHURCH       173 

gathering  together  the  converts,  etc.,  all  of  which, 
though  less  appreciated  bj  the  general  mercantile  com- 
mu-nitv  of  China,  have  been  as  signally  successful  as 
the  other  class  of  undertakings. 

"If  Christian  missions  advance  in  the  next  thirty-five 
years  in  the  same  ratio  as  in  the  past  thirty-five  years, 
there  will  be  at  the  end  of  that  time  twenty-six  millions 
of  communicants  and  a  Christian  community  of  one 
hundred  million  people, — one  fourth  of  the  Chinese 
nation."     (Dyer  Ball,  "Things  Chinese.") 

"Then  came  evening  worship, — the  simple,  sweet 
service,  the  little  company  gathered  around  a  glimmer- 
ing tea-oil  lamp,  spelling  out  with  difficulty  that  Word 
which  is  spirit  and  life  to  every  one  that  believeth;  the 
queer,  fervent  hymn,  sung  each  to  his  own  tune.  It 
would  have  seemed  a  strange  picture  to  your  home 
friends,  could  they  have  looked  within, — the  black  walls 
looming  high  into  the  darkness,  the  faint  light,  the  bent 
forms  kneeling  not  on  the  damp  mud  floor,  but  on  their 
narrow  benches  ;  but  God  himself  had  spoken  to  these 
humble  hearts ;  and  here,  in  this  remote,  unknown 
corner  of  the  earth,  they  were  tasting  the  sweetness  of 
tlie  communion  of  Saints."      (Harriet  Osborne.) 

"One  of  our  preachers  took  as  his  text  last  Sunday, 
'And  we  were  in  all  in  the  ship  two  hundred  and  three 
score  and  sixteen  souls.'  After  a  graphic  description 
of  the  circumstances,  he  said,  'And  who  is  there  among 
us  to  whom  I  can  liken  this  276th  man,  Paul,  who  knew 
how  to  be  silent,  but  also  knew  how  to  speak  and  to 
•  act  when  necessity  arose?'  My  attention  was  close  as 
1  waited  to  hear  if  to  his  thought  Yuan  Shi  ki,  the 
long  waited  for  official,  was  such  a  one.  But  no,  to 
my  great  surprise,  he  attributed  all  these  qualities  of 
courage  and  resourcefulness  to  'the  company  of  foreign 
ladies  and  teachers,  who  instead  of  seeking  some  safe 
asylum  for  themselves  in   Japan  or    Korea,  have  stayed 


174  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

and  planned  day  and  night  for  the  protection  of  women 
and  children  and  for  the  families  of  the  people  round 
about  them.'  This  was  such  unexpected  appreciation 
that  for  a  moment  it  was  not  easy  to  keep  back  the 
tears,  for  many  of  the  Chrrstians  have  looked  askance 
upon  our  efforts  to  help  the  people  of  all  fa,iths  and 
none,  fearing  perhaps  that  their  interests  might  be  over- 
looked."    (Mrs.  Ament  in  "Life  and  Light.") 

"Two  letters  in  the  strange  Chinese  characters  lie 
before  me.  They  were  received  a  month  ago.  One  is 
from  a  preacher  in  our  Tsunhua  district,  the  other 
from  a  former  servani  in  our  mission.  They  are 
strangely  alike  in  that  they  contain  a  list  of  the  names 
of  those  who  were  known  to  us  all,  and  after  each 
name  the  sentences  read  like  this:  'He  was  stoned  to 
death,'  'He  was  cut  in  pieces,'  'He  was  quartered,'  'She 
was  beheaded  and  her  headless  body  exposed,'  'His 
wife  killed  herself  to  escape  outrage,'  'These  girls  have 
been  made  slaves,'  'My  family  hid  in  the  mountains,' 
'She  was  burned,'  'The  family  were  thrown  into  prison, 
and  lands  and  crops  confiscated,  and  homes  looted,' 
'Every  Christian  village  in  the  district  is  destroyed  and 
those  who  have  been  killed  are  not  a  few.'  One  of 
these  letters  ends  with  a  plea  that  Dr.  Terry  and  I 
should  pray  for  'God's  church'  that  peace  may  soon 
come,  and  the  other  that  we  should  pray  for  the 'people 
of  China,'  that  they  soon  may  have  peace.  I  could 
take  my  Bible  and  write  the  names  of  our  native  Chris- 
tians in  China  over  against  every  form  of  torture  and 
suffering  mentioned  in  that  eleventh  Chapter  of 
Hebrews. 

"There  were  weak  and  faithless  ones,  that  we  know 
and  do  not  deny,  but  that  the  great  body  of  Christians 
stood  firm  and  went  with  brave  hearts  and  unflinching 
faith  to  the  awful  forms  of  torture  and  death  that  only 
heathen  cruelty  can  devise  is  true  also,  and  it  should 
give   to   us   all   a   deeper   trust,   a    firmer   hold    on    the 


THE    CHINESE    CHURCH       175 

realities  of  life  and  the  deep  meaning  in  the  Master's 
words,  'Whosoever  shall  lose  his  life  for  mj  sake  and 
the  gospel's,  the  same  shall  save  it.' 

"In  those  anxious  days  in  Peking  at  the  time  of  Con- 
ference I  had  been  telling  my  assistant  and  one  of  our 
Tsunhua  Bible  women  of  the  possibility  of  our  never 
getting  out  of  Peking  alive.  They  looked  at  me  calmly, 
and  one  said,  'We  shall  see  God  perhaps  much  sooner 
than  we  thought,  and  in  a  different  way,  and  Timothy 
said,  "If  we  suffer  we  shall  also  reign  with  Him."  ' 
The  other  said,  'We  are  in  God's  hands.'  Oh,  how 
many  times  we  heard  our  Christians  say  those  words, 
'We  are  in  God's  hands!'  Very  many  of  them  seemed 
to  be  moved  by  a  personal  love  for  Christ  and  a  trust 
in  his  abiding  presence  in  those  fearful  days." 
(Methodist  Leaflet.) 


QUESTIONS    FOR    FURTHER    STUDY 

1.  In  the  light  of  the  record  of  the  Chinese  Chris- 
tians during  the  Boxer  outbreak  is  it  fair  to  doubt  their 
sincerity? 

2.  In  what  elements  is  the  Chinese  church  pre-emi- 
nently strong.' 

3.  What  problem  in  Chinese  evangelism  seems  most 
pressing.? 

4.  In  the  light  of  present  conditions  what  action 
should  be  taken  by  Women's  Boards 

5.  Compare  the  growth  and  character  of  the  Chinese 
church  with  that  of  India,  of  Japan. 

6.  If  you  were  to  be  a  missionary  in  China  which 
would  you  choose  to  do:  train  Chinese  Bible  women, 
organize  Sunday  schools,  establish  kindergartens,  do 
evangelistic  service  among  women,  medical  mission 
work,  train  nurses,  or  teach  in  a  girls'  boarding 
school?  Which  seems  to  offer  the  greatest  opportunity 
for  fundamental  helpfulness? 


176  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

7.  Resolved  that  the  development  of  Christian  work 
for  women  and  girls  is  the  most  pressing  obligation 
upon  the  church  in  China. 

8.  Can  jou  connect  the  Chinese  revivals  with  similar 
movements  in  other  parts  of  the  world? 

9.  What  attitude  of  mind  is  indicated  bj  our  use  of 
the  tenn  "native  church"?  What  better  terminology 
might  be  substituted? 

10.  What  elements  may  the  developed  Chinese  church 
add  to  our  apprehension  of  Christian  truth? 

11.  What  reflex  benefits  on  the  home  churches  are 
missionary  activities  in  China  likely  to  exert? 


Kindergarten,  Baldwin  Memorial,  Nanchang 

Methodist  Episcopal  Society 


'VB. 


wm< 


'■my. 


Amoy  Schoolgirls  Sewing 

Dutch  Reformed  Board 


CHAPTER  V 

MEDICAL    MISSIONS    AND    THEIR    WORK 

The  physical  betterment  of  a  nation  is  an  essen-  Christianity 
tial  part  of  its  regeneration.  One  of  the  glorious  and  tKe  Body, 
by-products  of  Christianity  has  been  a  new  sense 
of  the  sacredness  of  the  body  and  a  new  study  of 
its  laws.  From  the  viewpoint  of  Christian  mis- 
sions, therefore,  the  medical  missionary  is  a  direct 
as  well  as  an  indirect  agency  for  spreading  the 
gospel  of  the  kingdom.  Direct,  in  that  by  him 
people  see  as  of  old  they  saw  "the  lepers 
cleansed,  the  lame  walk,  the  blind  see,  the 
deaf  hear  '  because  of  the  presence  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Direct,  too,  in  its  removal  of  barriers  of  disease 
and  suffering  and  filth  that  prevent  the  wholesome 
growth  of  the  spirit.  Indirect,  in  that  the  med- 
ical missionary  prepares  the  way  through  the  soft- 
ening of  prejudice  and  the  breaking  of  the  thick 
crust  of  ignorance  for  the  evangelistic  worker  who 
follows. 

The  aim  of  the  present  chapter  is  to  set  forth  Aim  of 
the  need  of  China  for  the  gospel  of  health  and  Chapter, 
sanitation,  the  beginnings  which  ha\e  been  made 
through  medical  missions  to  meet  that  need, 
the  bearings  of  that  work  on  evangelization,  and 
the  crying  necessity  of  further  reinforcing  this 
branch  of  the  work. 


178  CHINA'S    NEW  DAl' 

Physical  Suf-         "  The  amoLUit  of  disease  and  suffering  in  China," 
fering  in  says  Dr.  Stewart  in  the  "  Chinese  Recorder  "  of  Oc- 

CKina.  tober,  1896,  "  is  very  great,  and  the  methods  of  na- 

tive medical  practice  tend  rather  to  increase  than  to 
lessen  it.  The  rich  and  poor  alike  suffer.  Igno- 
rance, superstition  and*  filth  are  as  apparent  and 
potent  among  the  wealthy  as  among  the  poverty- 
stricken.  Scientific  diagnosis  and  rational  treatment 
are  an  impossibility  even  to  the  most  wealthy,  for  the 
reason  that  a  requisite  knowledge  of  medicine  can- 
not be  said  to  exist  in  China  at  the  present  time." 
Rural  Condi-  Throughout  the  country  and  the  villages  the 
tions.  houses  are  built  of  mud  or  brick,  with  dirt  floors  or 

porous  brick  floors.  The  inmates  expectorate  all 
about  them  until  the  floor  becomes  saturated  with 
the  sputum  of  generations.  Tuberculosis  is  fright- 
fully common  all  over  the  empire,  indeed  it  is  rare 
to  find  a  family  that  is  entirely  free  from  the  dis- 
ease. Outside  the  door  the  drainage  from  the 
other  hovises  stands  in  pools,  or  drains  in  a  slimy 
rivulet  to  a  pond  for  fertilizer  just  outside  the  vil- 
lage wall.  In  the  cities  the  streets  are  of  dirt,  and 
similar  drains  of  similar  slime  are  to  be  found 
everywhere.  In  Peking,  where  they  had  a  great 
sewage  system,  they  cleaned  the  sewers  in  the 
spring  by  taking  the  contents  out  of  the  sewer,  pil- 
ing them  up  on  the  sidewalk,  where  they  were  al- 
lowed to  dry  for  a  week  or  ten  days,  after  which 
they  used  this  same  material  for  building  up  the 
street  wdience  it  had  washed  into  the  sewer.  Such 
a  condition   in   the   great   Asiatic   cities  generates 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  179 

smallpox,  cholera,  bubonic,  pneumonic  and  other 
plagues  that  strike  terror  to  the  heart  of  the  world. 

To  cope  with  these  conditions  China  has  no 
trained  body  of  physicians.  Her  practice  of  med- 
icine, like  her  system  of  education,  is  antiquated, 
empirical,  and  must  needs  give  way  to  scientific 
methods. 

I  once  went  with  Dr.  Morrison,  that  wizard  of  the  Visit  tkeBot 
"  London  Times,"  to  visit  Liu  Li  Chang,  the  great  Street, 
book  and  curio  street  of  Peking.  He  was  anxious 
to  secure  some  Chinese  medical  books  of  the  old 
original  type.  After  inquiring  at  several  of  the 
shops,  we  finally  discovered  some  which  bethought 
he  wanted.  In  showing  us  the  books  the  dealer 
also  brought  forth  a  chart — an  anatomical  chart  I 
supposed  it  to  be,  though  I  knew  that  the  Chinese 
had  never  studied  anatomy.  It  was  almost  the 
size  of  the  human  body,  but  was  covered  all  over 
with  black  spots  which  gave  it  the  appearance  of 
having  had  the  smallpox.  Almost  every  Chinese 
under  the  old  regime  had  had  that  disease,  and  so 
I  said  to  the  dealer:  "It  looks  as  though  it  had 
'  blossomed out^  (the  Chinese  name  for  smallpox), 
why  does  it  have  all  these  spots?  " 

He  smiled,  and  then  by  way  of  explanation 
said  :  "No,  it  has  not  had  the  smallpox.  Those  are 
the  places  where  you  can  insert  the  needle  in  treat- 
ment by  acupuncture  without  killing  the  patient." 

"And  about  how  man}^  patients  would  you  have 
to  kill  in  making  a  chart  of  this  kind  before  you 
discovered  all  these  thousands  of  spots?  " 


180 


CHINA'S  A^BW   DAT 


Various  Ki 
of  Medical 
^Vorks. 


Acupunciure. 


Chinese  Med- 
icine not 
Wholly    Bad. 


He  shrugged  his  shoulders,  as  much  as  to  say 
that  his  business  was  selling  and  not  making  charts. 

We  found  very  many  works  on  all  phases  of 
medical  practice,  from  the  eye,  ear,  nose,  throat 
and  teeth,  to  the  treatment  of  infantile  iijaladies, 
as  well  as  the  diseases  of  camels,  oxen  and  buf- 
faloes. Some  of  these  works  are  veritable  ency- 
clopedias. One,  prepared  by  a  prince  about  five 
hundred  years  ago,  is  in  168  books,  has  1,960  dis- 
courses on  2,175  different  subjects,  with  778  rules, 
231  diagrams,  and  21,789  prescriptions.  Pre- 
scriptions enough  to  cure  all  the  ills  of  life  ;  but 
when  a  Chinese  has  a  headache  he  pastes  turnip 
skins  on  his  temples  to  bring  the  ache  out.  When 
he  has  a  sore  throat  he  pinches  it  up  and  down  the 
two  sides  and  the  center  until  it  is  black  and  blue, 
in  order  that  by  counter-irritation  he  may  cure  the 
pain  within.  He  still  has  a  sore  throat — but  it  is 
on  the  outside. 

Treatment  by  acupuncture  is  still  practiced  by 
the  old  Chinese  physician,  and  not  always  accord- 
ing to  the  spots  on  the  chart,  as  every  physician  of 
any  experience  in  Chinese  practice  will  tell  you. 
Without  any  attention  to  antiseptic  methods  they 
not  infrequently  cause  blood  poison,  or  introduce 
germs  which  set  up  inflammation,  leaving  the  pa- 
tient with  a  condition  of  arm,  or  limb,  or  joint, 
which  may  require  amputation. 

Now  this  is  not  to  say  that  there  is  nothing  good 
in  Chinese  medicine.  The  Chinese  begun  2700 
years  B.  C.  to  experiment  with  herbs  in  the  treat- 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  181 

ment  of  disease,  and  have  discovered,  and  used  for 
centuries,  many  of  the  common  physics,  astringents 
and  other  household  remedies  which  our  mothers 
and  grandmothers  used.  Chinese  medicine  is  still 
what  our  medicine  would  be  without  medical  col- 
leges or  systematic  instruction. 

There  are  in  all  communities  certain  men  and  Chinese  Doc- 
women  who  have  a  disposition  to  prescribe  for  *'"'®- 
anyone  who  is  ill.  Those  who  succeed  in  their 
prescriptions  finally  turn  their  knowledge  into  a 
commercial  channel,  supply  themselves  with  an 
outfit  of  medical  books,  study  the  Chinese  system 
of  taking  the  pulse,  which  may  require  two  years 
or  more  to  learn  well,  in  which  each  finger  of 
the  physician  tells  its  own  tale,  even  to  the  extent 
of  learning  how  many  years  the  patient  has  to  live. 
The  patient  may  also  keep  his  own  medical  books, 
and  if  the  prescriptions  do  not  suit  him  he  may 
prescribe  for  himself. 

Under  the  old   regime   there  were   no   medical   No  Medical 
schools  and  hence   no   medical  students.     No   li-  Schools, 
cense  was  necessary  in  order  to  practice  medicine, 
but  anyone  was  allowed  to  practice  who  could  find 
patients  to  drink  his  doses. 

The  practice  of  surgery  was  most  infrequent,  as 
the  Chinese  had  superstitions  about  the  effect  of 
the  amputation  of  any  part  of  the  body  on  the  con- 
dition of  the  spirit. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  under  such  conditions  the   Advent  of 
introduction  of  Western  medicine  by  the  mission-   Medical  Mis- 
aries  was  in  the  highest  sense   educative  and  sue- 


182  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

cessful  in  opening  the  way  for  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel.  The  story  has  been  so  fully  told  in 
previous  study  books  that  this  is  not  the  time  to  re- 
peat it,  but  rather  to  consider  the  present  condi- 
tion, needs  and  opportunities  of  the  rpedical 
branch  of  missionary  service. 
The  Plague.  The   terrible    visitation   of  the    plague,  bubonic 

and  pneumonic,  has  brought  a  fresh  realization  of 
the  importance  of  modern  medicine  and  sanitation 
to  the  Chinese.  The  heroism  of  medical  mission- 
aries in  aiding  the  government  to  stamp  it  out,  has 
helped  too,  to  commend  Christianity  to  the  people. 
"When  plague  broke  out  in  great  virulence  in 
Manchuria  in  the  middle  of  the  winter  the  word 
struck  terror  to  the  hearts  of  millions.  The  whole 
world  was  in  practical  ignorance  of  what  the 
spread  of  this  disease  might  mean,  and  even  its 
manifestations  and  method  of  contagion  and  prop- 
agation were  in  large  measure  matters  of  conjecture. 
Its  virulence  and  rapid  spread  were  very  patent 
facts,  and  with  the  help  of  all  the  foreign  medical 
experts  available,  the  Chinese  Government  set  about 
the  prevention  of  the  spread  of  the  disease  in  so  far 
as  it  was  able.  Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  praise 
of  these  men  who  gave  their  best  efforts,  even  in 
the  face  of  death,  in  order  to  save  the  lives  of 
others,  and  especial  gratitude  should  be  felt  to  the 
unknown  thousands  who  as  police,  military  or 
sanitary  officers  performed  their  duties  without 
hesitation,  courageously  and  well.  The  infection 
spread  all  through  Manchuria  and  into   many  dis- 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  183 

tricts  in  Chihli  and  Shantung.  A  natural  corol- 
lary of  the  plague  was  the  International  Plague 
Conference  held  in  Mukden,  whose  principal  find- 
ings are  now  known  to  the  world, — that  the 
plague  (pneumonic)  originates  with  the  taraba- 
gan,  a  species  of  marmot ;  that  infection  is  not 
carried  on  the  breath,  but  is  carried  in  the  sputum, 
and  that  the  bacillus  dies  very  quickly  without 
proper  nourishment  and  cultivation." 

An  instance  of  the  thorough  way  in  which  the  Japanese 
Japanese  deal  with  the  plague  was  mentioned  in  Thoroughness, 
a  recent  issue  of  the  "Missionary  Review  of  the 
World."  In  Formosa  they  are  in  control  of  a 
Chinese  population  of  3,000,000.  They  levy  a  tax 
of  two  rats  on  every  household.  Every  rat  is 
examined,  and  if  found  to  be  infected  the  house 
from  which  it  came  is  cleansed  and  disinfected. 
During  the  last  eight  years  35,000,000  rats  have 
been  thus  destroyed.  Twice  every  year  each 
house  and  shop  has  to  disgorge  all  its  effects  and 
to  be  thoroughly  cleaned  out.  The  streets  are 
lined  with  rows  of  tables  piled  with  bottles,  boots, 
fruits,  boxes,  tins,  cans,  pots  and  pans,  while  an 
inspector  passes  along  to  see  that  the  shops  are 
properly  clean. 

"  The  people  of  Tientsin,"  says  Dr.  Stevenson,    Impression  on 
' '  are  awake  to  the  fact  that  vaccination  does  prevent   *^^  Chinese, 
smallpox,  so  many  children  are  brought  to  us  for 
vaccination.     No   one  realizes  as  the  Chinese  do 
the  awful  ravages  of  this  disease.     Perhaps  the  one 
thing  that  has  made  the  greatest  impression  on  the 


184,  CHINA'S  NEW  BAT 

Chinese  from  a  medical  standpoint  has  been  the 
presence  of  the  plague  in  North  China.  The  for- 
eign-trained Chinese  doctors  did  most  effective 
work  in  sanitation  and  isolation.  Dr.  Wu  Lien 
Te  won  the  admiration  of  both  foreigners  and 
Chinese  for  the  able  way  in  which  he  directed 
several  thousand  men  granted  him  by  the  gov- 
ernment to  aid  in  stamping  out  the   plague. 

"  One  can  scarcely  realize  the  difficulty  encoun- 
tered by  those  in  charge  of  this  work  because  of 
the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  the  great  masses 
of  the  people.  They  never  isolate  themselves  for 
any  infectious  disease.  When  one  has  scarlet  fever 
or  smallpox  it  is  the  custom  for  all  the  relatives 
and  friends  to  call  and  see  him.  However,  the 
people  of  Tientsin  are  being  educated  up  to  for- 
eign medicine  and  seldom  call  us  too  late." 
The  Chinese  One  of  the  finest   products   of   missionary  pio- 

Trained  Phy-  neeriug  in  medicine  has  been  the  young  Chinese 
physicians  trained  in  Western  medicine.  At  first 
the  training  was  necessarily  incomplete  and  par- 
tial, but  even  then  surprisingly  good  results  in 
strength  of  character,  influence  and  skill  were 
reached  as  the  following  incident  will  show. 

One  of  the  first  graduates  from  the  school  of 
medicine  in  Peking  University  was  Dr.  Wang. 
When  the  Boxer  trouble  reached  Peking  he  was 
arrested,  his  little  son  with  him.  The  Boxers 
were  ordered  to  put  to  death  anyone  who  would 
not  give  up  his  faith  and  burn  incense  to  the  gods 
in  the  temple.  But  educated  men  were  few  in 
China,  and  so  they  said  to  him  : — 


sician. 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  185 

"Dr.  Wang,  you  are  an  educated  man;   we  do   A  Chinese 
not  want  to  put  you  to  death,  but  we  have  no  HI)-   Christian 
erty  in  the    matter.     You  go  with   us    and    burn   Physician, 
some  incense  and  we  will  let  you  go." 

"  No,"  said  he,  "  I  will  not  burn  incense." 

"  Well,  we  want  to  make  it  easy  for  you,"  they 
continued,  "  you  just  get  some  one  to  go  and  burn 
incense  in  your  place  and  it  will  be  all  right." 

"  No,  I  will  not  get  anyone  to  burn  incense  for 
me,"  he  persisted. 

"  Well,  we  will  get  some  one  to  liurn  incense 
for  you,"  they  continued.  "  You  just  go  over  to 
the  temple  with  us." 

"  No,"  he  answered,  "  I  will  not  do  that."  Faithful  unto 

"Then,"  they  continued,   "  we  must  kill  you."   Death. 

"  You  may  kill  me,"  he  answered,  "but  I  will 
not  worship  your  gods.  How  coidd  I  look  my 
teachers  in  the  face,  if  I  burned  incense  in  that 
temple  ?  to  say  nothing  of  my  Christ !  We  are 
four  generations  of  Christians,  my  grandfather,  my 
father,  myself  and  this  little  boy.  Do  you  think  I 
would  allow  this  child  to  see  his  father  deny  his 
Saviour?  Kill  me  if  you  will  but  I  will  not  deny 
my  Lord."     They  ran  him  through  with  a  spear. 

It  was  their  own  conversation  afterwards,  over- 
heard by  one  of  our  coolies  who  was  carrying 
water  for  them  at  the  time,  that  furnished  us  with 
the  above  information.  As  they  themselves  said  : 
"  It  was  a  pity  to  kill  such  a  man." 

But  important  as  were  the  earlier  developments 
of  medical  missions  the  establishment  of  hospitals 


186  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

Medical  Mis-    <i'id  training'  schools  for  women  marked  a  develop- 
sions  for  ment  possibly  even  more    influential.     From  the 

Women.  Chinese  viewpoint  it  was   unsuitable  that   women 

should  be  treated  in  general  hospitals  or  by  male 
practitioners.  Yet  women  were  the  greatest  suf- 
ferers from  the  defects  of  Chinese  medical  skill, 
and  the  ignoi'ance  and  superstition  of  mothers  re- 
sulted in  a  frightfully  heavy  toll  of  infant  death 
and  in  general  ill  health  and  misery.  The  Women's 
Boards  went  about  to  undertake  this  form  of  min- 
istry, and  have  developed  some  of  the  institutions 
of  most  widespread  beneficent  influence.  The 
following  may  be  mentioned  as  typical. 

At  Kityang,  China,  is  the  Josephine   M.  Bixby 
Hospital  for  women  and  children  (Baptist). 
Dr.  Bixby.  "Dr.    Bixby  was  an  Iowa  girl.     Converted  at 

sixteen,  she  soon  determined  to  give  her  life  to  the 
foreign  work.  Declining  all  proffered  aid  she 
maintained  herself  for  two  years  in  the  Training 
School  for  Nurses,  two  years  in  the  Woman's 
Medical  College  and  some  time  in  the  Moody  In- 
stitute, all  in  Chicago. 

"  She  sailed  from  San  Francisco  October  16, 
1894,  and  reached  Swatow,  China,  November  8th. 
Here  she  commenced  the  study  of  the  Chinese 
language  and  took  charge  of  some  patients  in  con- 
nection with  Dr.  Scott.  Together  they  treated 
more  than  a  thousand  patients  a  week.  Dr.  Bixby 
attending  specially  to  the  eye  and  ear  patients. 
And  in  a  little  more  than  a  year  she  assumed 
charge    at    Kityang.      Here    amid   privations    and 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  187 

difficulties,  work  that  demanded  a  man's  strength, 
with  none  but  native  assistants,  whom  she  had 
trained,  sometimes  alone  at  the  station  and  taking 
charge  of  other's  work  during  their  furloughs,  she 
wrought  and  planned  and  hoped  and  accom- 
plished for  eleven  years.  Then  came  the '  few 
months  of  suffering,  and  on  Sabbath  morning, 
June  16,  1907,  she  passed  over  to  the  true 
'Homeland.'" 

Let  us  follow  Dr.  Bixby  through  (>ne  day's 
work,  typical  of  hospital  work  thrc  agh  all  the 
stations  in  that  locality. 

"  From  half  past  eight  to  nine  o'clock  every  A  Day's 
morning  we  have  a  singing  and  preaching  service  Work, 
at  the  chapel.  This  is  under  Mr.  Speicher's  direc- 
tion, and  that  of  native  preachers.  At  nine  o'clock 
I  i-epair  to  the  hospital,  and,  if  it  is  not  'dispensary 
day,'  spend  the  morning  with  my  native  helpers, 
looking  after  our  in-patients.  If  it  is  dispensary 
day,  my  two  boys  attend  to  the  dressing  and  treat- 
ing of  eyes,  before  nine  o'clock,  and  at  nine  the 
door  is  opened  and  tickets  are  given  out  as  the 
people  come  in,  and  we  dispense  medicines,  and 
treat  eyes,   and   all  sorts   of    maladies  until  noon, 

"  The  religious  service  for  the  in-patients  is  held 
in  the  evening,  when  all  who  are  able  to  do  so  are 
gathered  in  the  waiting  room,  and  after  a  song  is 
sung,  a  portion  of  the  gospel  is  read  and  explained 
by  one  of  the  helpers,  then  a  prayer  is  offered, 
and  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  several  to  rise 
before  the  prayer  is  offered,   and   unsolicited,   re- 


188  CHINA'S  NEW  BAT 

quest  that  prayer  be  made  for  them.  The  dis- 
pensary also  is  always  opened  with  a  short  service. 
"  We  often  find  their  ignorance  exceedingly 
dense  and  to  make  even  a  slight  impression  upon 
them  a  most  discouraging  task,  yet  the  woj-k  is  not 
hopeless  for  many  have  learned  while  in  the  hos- 
pital to  read  a  few  hymns  or  tracts,  and  have 
learned  to  pray,  and  have  taken  home  with  them 
some  seed  truths,  which,  being  divine,  we  know 
cannot  die." 
The  Oldest  ^^^     ^""-^    ^^     Canton    the    oldest    and    largest 

Mission  Hos-   mission  hospital  in  the  world,  founded  in  1835  by 
pital.  Dr,  Peter  Parker.     It  is  supported  by  the  Canton 

Medical  Society,  the  physicians  being  furnished  by 
the  Board.  There  are  61  wards,  with  300  beds, 
and  over  20,000  patients  treated  annually.  From 
1853  to  1899  it  was  superintended  by  Dr.  John 
G.  Kerr,  who  trained  150  Chinese  students,  and 
translated  over  20  medical  works  into  Chinese. 
He  also  founded  the  only  insane  asylum  in  China. 
This  hospital  with  its  large  chapel  and  schools  is 
one  of  the  most  important  evangelistic  agencies  in 
Southern  China.  Dr.  John  M.  Swan  is  now  in 
charge.  Chinese  friends  have  presented  a  build- 
ing for  a  medical  college.  There  are  five  dis- 
pensaries in  different  parts  of  the  city. 
Dr.  Mary  The    largest    medical    work    for  women   in    all 

Fulton.  China  under  a   single   missionary   continues  to   be 

the  allied  institutions  in  Canton,  under  Dr.  Mary 
Fulton,  namely,  the  David  Gregg  Hospital  for 
Women,  the  Hackett   Medical  College,  the  Julia 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  189 

M.  Turner  Training  School  for  Nurses  and  the 
maternity  and  children's  wards.  Dr.  Fulton  is 
assisted  by  Dr.  Boyd,  while  such  help  as  their 
duties  permits  is  given  by  Dr.  Niles,  Dr.  Machle 
and  Dr.  Selden.  It  is  more  difficult  to  have  hos- 
pital work  exclusively  for  women  than  for  men. 
In  a  recent  report  Dr.  Fulton  says  : — 

"  It  is  not  easy  for  the  ordinary  Chinese  mother 
to  leave  her  house.  She  must  watch  the  door, 
attend  to  the  children,  cook,  mend,  etc.  She  has 
control  of  no  money,  and  it  is  given  only  grudg- 
ingly if  she  must  enter  a  hospital.  I  have  known 
husbands  to  come  to  our  sick  women,  and  scold 
them  for  not  getting  well  of  some  serious  illness 
after  a  residence  with  us  of  a  few  days.  The 
women  are  afraid  to  remain  away  long  from 
home.  One  woman  said  she  must  hurry  home  or 
her  husband  would  bring  back  another  wife  during 
her  absence.  With  the  men  it  is  different.  They 
go  where  and  when  they  please  and  carry  all  the 
money  with  them.  They  remain  in  a  hospital  till 
cured  or  as  long  as  they  wish. 

"Forty-eight  young  women  are    enrolled  at  the   HackettMed- 
Hackett    Medical  College.       Instruction    is   given   ical  College, 
by  five  Chinese  and  five  foreign  teachers. 

"  In  January,  three  were  graduated,  making  34  in 
the  seven  years.  Some  are  pushing  out  into  un- 
touched regions,  which  is  helping  to  accomplish 
our  object  of  supplying  each  large  town  with  two 
Christian  physicians.  Eleven  were  engaged  as 
instructors  in   medicine  in   different   places.     We 


190  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

have  three  students  from  Foochovv,  one  from 
Amoy,  two  from  Hainan.  The  two  who  came 
from  Honohilu  over  four  years  ago  to  study  with 
.  Dr.  Chesnut  received  their  diplomas  this  year. 
One  is  now  in  Heung  Shan  and  one  is  to  assist  a 
foreigner  in  a  hospital.  The}'  seem  like  a  sacred 
legacy,  and  I  am  grateful  they  are  finally  launched 
on  their  life-work." 

Ten  nurses  are   under  training  at  tlie  Julia  M. 
Turner  Training  School. 
Demand  for  "The    demand    for    nurses     has    exceeded    the 

Nurses.  supply.     We  need  a  new  building  for   a    nurses' 

home.  One  of  our  nurses  who  speaks  English  is  so 
constantly  wanted  that  she  has  been  compelled  to 
put  up  her  price.  Dr.  Davenport  says,  '  She  is 
worth  it,  as  she  is  a  perfect  success.'  This  is 
high  praise  from  an  English  doctor  for  a  girl 
trained  in  a  native  hospital." 

Dr.  Fulton  managed  in  some  mysterious  way  to 
spend  five  hours  a  day  in  translation  work.  Three 
books  are  in  progress,  two  of  which  will  soon  be 
published.  She  has  translated:  "Remarkable 
Answers  to  Prayer,"  "Diseases  of  Children," 
"  Nursing  in  Abdominal  Surgery,"  "  Gynecology," 
etc.     She  says  : — 

"China  is  awakening  so  rapidly  that  she  is  not 
only  crying  from  hunger,  but  one  may  say  scream- 
ing for  immediate  nourishment  in  the  way  of 
books  and  help  of  every  kind." 

"After  medical  work  in  Amoy  itself  was  given 
up  by  the   English  Presbyterians,    in    1894,    the 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  191 

Board  of  the   Reformed  Church,  in  America,   de-   Hope  and 
cided  to  take  it  up.      In  1897   the   first   steps  were   Wilkelmina 
taken.     Money  for  a  hospital   foY  men  was  raised   Hospitals, 
in  America,  and  for  a  hospital  for  women  in  The 
Netherlands.     The  former  was  called  Hope  Hos- 
pital, and  the  latter  at  first  Netherlands  Women's 
Hospital,  but   subsequently  Wilhelmina   Hospital, 
after  the   Qiieen,  whose   mother  is  now  its   official 
'  Protectress.' 

"  Since  the  beginning  of  the  work  in  Hope 
and  Wilhelmina  Hospitals,  16,000  in-patients  and 
125,000  out-patients  have  been  treated.  Over 
7,000  operations  of  all  kinds  have  been  performed. 

"  The  work  is  divided  into  four  parts.  First, 
there  is  the  Dispensary.  Five  days  are  given  to 
this  a  week.  To  these  clinics  patients  are  ad- 
mitted free  of  charge,  except  that  they  must  pay 
three  cents  for  the  card  giving  their  number. 
This  is  paid  but  once,  unless  they  lose  their  card, 
when  a  fine  of  three  cents  is  imposed.  Medicines 
and  dressings  are  free.  Only  the  bottles  have  to 
be  paid  for." 

"  In  Shanghai,"  says  the   Protestant  Episcopal   Protestant 
report,     "  medical    work    has    arisen    out    of    the   Episcopal 
physical    needs  of   the   people  of  China   as   natu-    "'O'"'^- 
rally   as    the    evangelistic     and     educational  work 
has     been     done     in     answer     to    their     spiritual 
and  intellectual  needs.     It  is  not  to  be  considered 
as  a  bait   by  which  men  are   drawn  to  accept  the 
gospel,   but    as    holding  something  of    the    same 
place  as  the  miracles    of    mercy  which  our  Lord 


192  CHINA'S  NEW  DA  2^ 

worked  upon  the  sick.  These  were  the  natural 
outflowing  of  His  love  to  man  and  the  work  of  the 
medical  missionary  is  the  free  and  unselfish  de\o- 
tion  of  time  and  skill  to  heal  the  bodily  ills  of 
men.  It  serves,  no  doubt,  as  an  evidence  of  what 
Christianity  means,  but  it  is  more  than  this ;  it  is 
Christian  love  in  action,  and  love  is  the  true  motive 
for  every  form  of  missionary  work. 

"  In  the  District  of  Shanghai  there  are  at  Shang- 
hai, St.  Luke's  Hospital  for  men  and  St.  Eliza- 
beth's for  women,  with  dispensaries  at  both  hos- 
pitals and  two  more  dispensaries  at  Jessfield  and 
Wusih. 

"In  the  District  of  Hankow  there  are  St.  Peter's 
Hospital  for  men  and  the  Elizabeth  Bunn  Hospital 
for  w^omen  in  Wuchang,  with  dispensaries  at  each 
place. 

"  In  the  district  of  Wuhu  there  is  St.  James'  hos- 
pital, Anking,  for  both  men  and  women,  and  a 
dispensary  connected  with  it. 

"  The  hospitals  for  women  are  vmder  the  charge 
of  women  physicians.  The  doctors,  whether  men 
or  women,  are  graduates  of  the  best  medical 
schools,  and  the  aim  of  all  these  institutions  is  to 
give  the  Chinese  the  benefit  of  the  best  care  and 
the  highest  skill  in  the  present,  and  to  supply 
them  with  the  object  lesson  of  a  few  well-equipped, 
well-organized  and  well-conducted  institutions, 
that  they  may  be  led  to  pro\ide  large  numbers  of 
similar  institutions  for  themselves  and  their  coun- 
trymen in  the  future.      Working  with  the  American 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  1D8 

doctors  arc  Chinese  doctors  who  ha\  c  gradu- 
ated from  mission  medical  schools,  and  assistants 
who  ha\e  been  trained  in  the  mission  hospitals. 
'Ihe  hospitals  owe  much  also  to  the  American 
women  who  lia\e  come  out  as  nurses.  Their  as- 
sistance in  the  operating  rooms  and  care  for  the 
cleanliness  of  the  hospitals,  their  training  of 
Chinese  nurses,  and  their  work  with  the  women 
in  the  dispensaries  ai'e'of  the  greatest  value.  The 
value  of  the  medical  work  is  so  plain  to  the  com- 
munity where  it  is  established  that  it  usually  re- 
ceives substantial  support  in  fees  and  subscriptions 
from  Chinese  and  foreigners." 

Among  the  women's  hospitals  in  Shanghai  none  Dr.  Reifsny- 
stands  higher  in  the  estimation  of  the  community  der's  Work, 
than  that  of  the  Woman's  Union  Missionary  So- 
ciety, for  so  many  years  under  the  superintendence 
of  Dr.  Reifsnyder.  She  is  a  woman  of  great 
strength  of  character,  broad  views,  large  vision, 
and  has  had  a  tremendous  influence  on  the  com- 
munity through  her  medical  work. 

The  women  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,    Mary  Black 
South,  have  the  Mary  Black  Hospital  in  Soochow,    Hospital  in 
in  charge  of  Dr.  Margaret  H.  Polk,  of  whom  they   Soocnow. 
say  :— 

"  Under  Dr.  Polk's  unfaltering  consecration  of 
life  and  energy  to  her  chosen  work  it  has  grown 
to  proportions  wholly  beyond  the  power  of  one 
woman  to  manage.  She  is  now  senior  physician 
to  10,000  patients  per  year,  this  being  the  annual 
average  from  1905  to  1910.     She  is  general  super- 


194  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

visor  of  all  hospital  husiness,  including  the  design- 
ing and  erection  of  buildings.  She  is  surgeon  in 
charge  of  the  hospital,  instructor  in  the  Soochow 
Medical  College,  lecturer  in  the  School  of  Phar- 
niacy  and  in  the  School  of  Nursing. 

"In  response  to  her  repeated  calls  far  help, 
Miss  Mary  Hood,  our  iirst  trained  nurse,  was  sent 
to  her  in  1907.  She  organized  a  class  of  nurse- 
training  students,  which  movement  holds  promise 
of  unspeakable  relief  to  the  suffering  race  of 
Chinese  women  and  children." 
Dr.  Lucy  P.  '^\\G^  work  of  the    Woman's  Board  of    the  Con- 

Bement's  gregational      Church    is    found     at    Foochow,    at 

Work.  Shao-wu,    where  Dr.   Lucy  P.   Bement  is  seeing 

16,000  patients  annually,  besides  her  hospital 
in-patients,  at  Pang-Chuang,  where  "  the  clientele 
expanded  rapidly  from  2,000  in  1882  to  8,000  in 
1886.  It  reached  15,000  patients  per  annum  in 
the  first  decade,  and  2.5,000  in  1897.  Of  in- 
patients there  were  from  500  to  800  annually,  af- 
fording a  large  field  for  special  Christian  work,  as 
the  average  stay  of  each  patient  was  ten  days.  A 
venerable  preacher  became  hospital  chaplain,  per- 
forming his  duties  admirably  for  ten  years,  from 
1890  to  1900. 

"  A  summary  of  the  work  of  two  decades  is  typ- 
ical of  the  vaster  work  in  the  empire.  The  first 
decade  sums  up  44,163  individuals  treated ;  the 
second  decade,  98,952,  making  a  total  of  143,000 
first  treatments,  and  of  280,000  total  treatments. 
The  prop07'tion  of  men  to  women  was  as  Jive  to 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  195 

three.  Surgical  operations  during  first  decade, 
3,768;  during  second,  7,323 ;  a  total  of  11,000. 
One  fourth  of  these  were  operations  connected 
with  the  eye." 

Dr.  F,  F.  Tucker  is  in  charge  of  the  men's  hos-  Mrs.  Dr. 
pital  and  dispensary  work  here,  but  there  is  "  a  Tucker, 
third  court,  for  women  only,  and  here  the  eyes, 
ulcers,  aches,  babes  and  children  are  even  more 
api^ealing  than  in  the  other  wards.  These  pa- 
tients are  largely  under  the  special  care  of  Dr. 
Emma  Boose  Tucker.  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  reported 
to  have  said  in  speaking  of  the  kind  of  American 
he  met  in  Africa,  '  But  his  wife  is  a  better  fellow 
still ;'  and  so  it  seems  to  these  humble  and  needy 
women  who  must  be  reached  by  the  woman  phy- 
sician, if  they  are  to  be  won,  body  and  soul." 

Again  at  Lintsing    this   same    Board    has    Dr.    Dr.  Susan  B 
Susan  B.  Tallmon,  who  in  a  description  of  a  day's  Tallmon. 
clinic,  gives  the  following  interesting  paragraph — 
interesting  because  unusual  : — 

"  That  girlish-looking  mother  asks  if  we  cannot 
see  her  baby.  She  and  her  husband  have  walked 
six  miles  to  bring  the  child, — he  carrying  it  in  one 
of  two  baskets  suspended  from  the  ends  of  a  pole 
resting  on  his  shoulder.  The  baby  is  a  girl  and 
only  a  year  old.  Her  head  is  swollen  to  much 
more  than  its  natural  size,  and  her  eyelids  are  so 
puffed  that  they  seem  near  bursting.  No ;  we 
will  not  take  her  into  the  dispensary  ;  we  will  treat 
her  here  on  the  porch,  I  am  afraid  she  has  ery- 
sipelas, and  we  do  not  wish  to  get  any  unnecessary 


196  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

germs  into  the  room.  How  anxious  the  parents 
are  !  Who  says  baby  girls  in  China  are  seldom 
loved  ?  " 

An    insight  into  the  unselfish    ministry  of  these 

medical   missionaries  is  given   in  the  report  of  the 

Sleeper  Davis  Memorial  Hospitiil : — 

Sleeper  Davis         u  j^-  jg   j-,ot    always    telling   the    story  of  Christ 

Memoria  ^^^^   j^jg   j^^,^   ^^.^^   counts    most.      A  womau  was 

Hospital.  •     1      r  1  1  11-1 

carried  irom  lier  home  to  the  hospital  on  a 
stretcher.  For  weeks  she  had  been  suffering  with 
inflammatory  rheumatism,  and  the  slightest  move- 
ment seemed  to  cause  intense  pain.  For  weeks 
she  had  lain  on  her  kang,  or  warm  brick  bed,  with- 
out bath,  and  without  change  of  clothing.  Natu- 
rally, a  bath  was  the  doctor's  first  order ;  and  Miss 
Powell,  wishing  to  give  her  nurses  an  object  les- 
son, determined  to  carry  out  the  order  herself.  It 
was  a  difficult  and  unpleasant  task,  but  proved 
well  worth  while.  I  am  sure  that  woman  will 
never  cease  to  speak  of  Miss  Powell's  gentleness 
and  kindness.  '  Why,'  she  said,  '  I  have  many 
dear  friends  and  relatives,  but  there  is  no  one  who 
would  do  for  me  what  you  have  done  to-day  !  ' 
She  went  home  several  weeks  later,  impressed 
with  the  thought  that  there  is  power  in  the  Chris- 
tian religion  to  change  the  human  heart. 
Fund  for  the  "•  We  have    had  in  our  hands  this  year  a  small 

Destitute.  fund  which  has   enabled   us   to   furnish  medicine, 

surgical  dressing,  food  and  clothing  to  a  few  very 
needy   ones.     Destitute    old   ladies  and  neglected" 
little   children   ha\'e    been    among  the   recipients. 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  197 

Eacli  (5f  these  poor  people  has  a  story.  We  hope 
the  fund  will  be  added  to,  so  the  good  work  may 
continue  through  the  coming  year.  Often  our 
wealthy  Chinese  patrons  are  glad  to  contribute 
toward  the  support  of  the  poor  in  our  hospital 
wards. 

"For  several  years  we  have  returned  to  the 
Missionary  Society  their  annual  appropriation  for 
the  support  of  the  hospital.  More  money  comes 
in  each  year  from  the  sale  of  medicine  and  dis- 
pensary tickets.  We  depend  largely  for  running 
expenses  on  the  income  from  our  outside  practice. 

"The  educated  classes  believe  in  Western  medi- 
cine and  are  willing  to  pay  for  the  services  of  a 
Western  doctor  in  their  homes." 

The  Woman's  Hospital  in  Ch'ang  Li  (Metho-  Hospital 
dist)  is  again  left  without  a  doctor.  In  comment,  without  a 
Dr.  Keeler,  in  charge  of  the  men's  hospital,  says  :  Doctor. 
"  Here  we  have  a  complete  and  commodious  set  of 
buildings  with  ten  thousand  dollars  invested,  good 
living  quarters,  and  a  situation  which  for  natural 
beauty,  mountain  scenery  and  healthful  surround- 
ings is  unequaled  in  North  China,  with  ten  thou- 
sand sick  and  suffering  children  and  women  crying, 
'  Come  over  and  help  us  ! '  Is  it  not  possible  by 
prayer  and  perseverance  to  find  in  all  America  a 
woman  doctor  to  do  this  work.?  Another  hospi- 
tal whose  one  physician  must  come  home  on  fur- 
lough pleads  for,  'Just  one  of  the  ordinary  all  round 
good  doctors  of  whom  there  are  so  many  at  home. 
If    only    they  could  know  the  need  in   China.'  " 


198 


CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 


Ch 


There  has  been  one  unique  feature  about  the 
work  of  the  Methodist  church  in  Southern  and 
Central  China,  viz.,  the  medical  education  of 
young  Chinese  ladies  in  America. 

The  first  of  these  was  Hii  King  Eng  of  Foo- 
WomenPhy-  chow.  Mrs.  Keen  of  Philadelphia  took  an  interest 
in  this  young  lady.  She  first  entered  the  Foo- 
chow  boarding  school,  then  studied  music,  then 
became  a  student  helper  in  the  Woman's  hospital, 
then  took  a  course  in  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity, and  in  1888  entered  the  Woman's  Medical 
College  at  Philadelphia.  As  the  result  of  a  fever 
her  health  became  impaired,  and  she  returned 
to  her  home  in  Foochow  where  she  assisted  in  the 
work  until,  "in  the  fall  of  1892  she  returned  to 
Philadelphia  to  complete  her  course  in  the 
Woman's  Medical  College.  After  graduating 
with  honor  in  1894,  she  took  special  hospital 
work,  and  went  back  to  her  native  city  in  1895,  a 
regular  medical  missionary  of  the  Woman's  For- 
eign Missionary  Society. 

"As  head  of  the  Woolston  Memorial  Hospital, 
her  Christian  love,  natural  kindness  and  courtesy 
and  medical  skill  draw  to  her  the  hearts  of  hun- 
dreds of  suffering  women,  who  feel  that  there  is 
sympathy  for  them  in  her  every  look  and  touch. 
Many  tablets  have  been  presented  to  the  hospital 
in  token  of  appreciation  of  her  work,  while  her 
missionary  associates  have  a  laudable  pride  in  her 
success  as  a  doctor,  and  her  faithfulness  wins  their 
affectionate  reg-ard. 


^Voolston 
Memorial 
Hospital. 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  199 

"  A  total  of  more  tlian  26,753  prescriptions  for 
the  year  1909  partially  indicates  the  extent  of  her 
labor  of  love. 

"The  graduation  of  the  first  student  from 
Woolston  Hospital  in  1902  was  the  occasion  of 
much  rejoicing  and  lively  explosions  of  festive 
firecrackers.  It  was  celebrated  in  an  ancestral 
hall,  loaned  for  the  exercises,  and  was  the  first 
time  that  a  Christian  service  had  been  held  in  an 
ancestral  temple. 

"  The  people  were  eager  and  curious  to  witness 
this  departure. 

"In   Dr.    Hii's  quaint   phraseology,    'seeing   a   "Engaged, 
Chinese  young  woman  receiving  her  diploma  made   Married  or 
many  Chinese  parents  regret  that  their  daughters   browned. 
were    engaged,  or    married,  or   drowned,'    while 
others  exclaimed,  'Alas  !  who  knew  girls  could  do 
so  much  good  to  the  world,  more  than  our  boys  ! '  " 

This  graduate,  it  is  interesting  to  note,  was  Hii 
Seuk  Eng,  the  sister  of  Dr.  Hii,  who  is  now  act- 
ing as  her  assistant  in  the  hospital. 

Standing  as  she  does,  the  first  Chinese  woman 
physician  educated  in  a  foreign  land.  Dr.  Hii  King 
Eng  is  an  honor  to  her  race  and  a  joy  to  the  So- 
ciety under  whose  auspices  she  works.  Her  life, 
too,  is  well  expressed  in  her  own  words, — "  I  just 
'  look  up  '  and  '  lend  a  hand.'  " 

"  While  in  this  country  her  influence  was  very 
helpful  to  others.  One  grateful  mother  exclaimed, 
'  Little  did  I  dream  when  giving  money  for  the 
work  in  China  that  a  Chinese   girl  would  lead  my 


200  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

daughter  to  Christ  I'  God  is  faithful  to  his  prom- 
ises. As  we  send  the  joy  and  blessing  to  the  far 
away  ones,  he  gives  us  back  joy  and  blessing — 
'  good  measure,  pressed  down  and  running  over.'  " 

In  Central  China  Miss  Gertrude  Howe  has  the 
distinction  of  having  been  instrumental  in  educat- 
ing two  young  ladies  who  have  caused  favorable 
comment  in  two  continents.  These  two  ladies  are 
Dr.  Ida  Kahn  and  Dr.  Mary  Stone. 
Dr.  Mary  INIary  Stone  was   born   on  the   "  first  day  of  the 

Stone.  third  moon"  in  1873,  in  a  Christian  home.     Her 

parents  were  among  the  first  Christian  converts  in 
China.  With  true  devotion  the  little  black-eyed 
baby  was  baptized  and  consecrated  to  "Heaven's 
Lord."  Dr.  Ida  Kahn,  in  writing  of  her  friend's 
early  life,  says  :  — 

"  With  a  faith  which  was  strong  and  clear  they 
brought  up  little  Mary  with  natural  feet,  thus  giv- 
ing her  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  native  girl, 
not  a  slave,  in  Central  and  West  China  to  have  her 
feet  left  as  God  had  made  them. 

"  She  began  her  Chinese  studies  early  and 
proved  an  apt  student.  When  she  was  seven  years 
old  two  missionary  doctors  opened  a  hospital  in 
Kiu  Kiang.  Seeing  the  good  accomplished  by 
these  ladies,  Mary's  father  thought  he  would  like 
to  have  his  daughter  help  her  covmtry  women  in 
the  same  way.  So  he  took  her  to  one  of  the  phv- 
sicians,  asking  her  to  teach  Marv  to  be  a  doctor. 
This  she  kindly  consented  to  do,  as  Miss  Howe 
agreed  first  to  teach  her  English. 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  201 

"  At  nineteen  years  of  acre  she  ol^ained  her 
matriciilatii)n  at  the  l^iii\ersity  of  Michigan.  She 
graduated  in  ISDG  and  returned  to  work  among  her 
own  people." 

The  second  of  these  nati\e  Chri-^tian  Chinese 
doctors,  Ida  Kahn,  was  also  born  in  1873,  but  be- 
gan her  life  in  a  heathen  home.  We  will  let  Dr. 
Stone  tell  the  story  : — 

"  According  to  the  Chinese  custom,  a  fortune  Dr.  Ida  Katn. 
teller  was  called  to  tell  her  fate  and  to  advise  tlie 
mother  concerning  this  new  daughter.  The  blind 
man  came,  leaning  for.  support  on  a  small  boy, 
hired  by  the  fortune  teller  to  lead  the  way.  Then, 
though  his  blind  eyes  could  not  see  the  bright 
young  face  before  him,  he  pronounced  that  she 
should  be  killed  or  sent  away  to  another  family. 
'For,'  said  he,  'if  she  is  allowed  to  live  in  this 
house  you  could  not  have  the  son  you  so  desired, 
and  who  will  be  your  heir  when  you  die?'  The 
mother  was  not  so  hard-hearted  as  to  kill  her 
child,  nor  was  she  compelled  to  do  it  by  her 
good-natured  husband,  who  in  this  matter  excelled 
some  of  his  hot-tempered  countrymen  who  drive 
their  wives  to  shameful  lengths  by  harsh  words  or 
blows.  So  accordingly  a  family  was  to  be  sought 
that  would  satisfy  her  ambitious  motherly  heart. 
Another  fortune  teller  was  consulted,  and  this  time 
it  was  found  that  Ida  was  born  imder  the  dog's 
star,  while  her  intended  was  born  under  the  cat's 
star,  which  was  just  the  reverse  of  what  it  should 
be,  for  in  China  girls  should  always  be  inferior  to 


202  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

boys.  But  the  child's  life  was  not  to  be  so  easily 
slighted,  when  the  Heavenly  Father  had  sent  it 
down  with  a  mission  to  fulfill.  After  learning  the 
story  of  the  child  from  her  native  teacher,  Miss 
Adopted  by  Howe  and  another  missionary  lady  went  in  sedan 
Miss  Howe.  chairs  to  Ida's  home  and  carried  her  back  with 
them  that  very  afternoon,  and  INIiss  Howe  adopted 
her  as  her  own.  Ida's  early  years  were  spent  in 
studying  English,  as  well  as  Chinese,  but  of  course, 
being  a  native,  she  spent  more  of  her  time  on 
Chinese  studies.  She  was  baptized  at  twelve 
years  of  age  and  at  thirteen  she  was  received  into 
full  connection  with  the  church. 

"  Miss  Howe  brought  her  over  to  America  to 
study  medicine,  as  it  was  necessary  in  order  to 
obtain  a  thorough  training,  for  many  practical 
courses,  such  as  dissection,  etc.,  are  not  allowed 
in  China. 

"  x\t  the  age  of  eighteen  she  passed  the  entrance 
examinations  to  the  medical  department  of  Michi- 
gan University  at  Ann  Arbor.  She  finished  her 
course  of  studies  the  next  year  and  began  her  work 
among  her  sisters  in  China,  pointing  them  to  the 
Great  Physician,  who  is  able  to  make  them  every 
whit  whole." 

A  lawyer  said  to  Dr.  Kahn  :  "I  am  glad  you 
are  going  back  as  a  doctor.  Doctors  are  more 
needed  than  missionaries." 

"  No,  sir,"  said  the  doctor.  "I  do  not  think 
so,  eternity  is  longer  than  time."  Though  zealous 
in  the  profession,  both  doctors  feel  that  the  soul  is 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  203 

even  more  important  tlum  the  body,  and  the  great 
purpose  in  their  faithful  ministration  to  the  sick 
and  weary  bodies  of  their  sisters  is  to  lead  the 
sin-sick  soul  to  the  Great  Physician. 

The  success  of  these  two  devoted  young  doctors  Government 
was  so  remarkable  that  it  attracted  the  attention  Recognition. 
of  the  government,  and  a  very  flattering  offer  of 
positions  in  the  new  university  in  Shanghai  was 
pressed  upon  them  by  a  high  official.  This  they 
did  not  deem  it  wise  to  accept,  but  remained  in 
the  service  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary- 
Society,  where  they  are  free  to  do  their  Christian 
work. 

"But,"  some  one  asks,  ''are  the  medical  needs  Dr.  Terry's 
of  China  so  great?  Have  we  not  provided  for  a  Field, 
visitation  of  most  of  the  people.?"  In  one  of  the 
districts  in  North  China  in  which  the  only 
woman  evangelist  is  Miss  Ella  Glover,  and  the 
only  physician  Dr.  Edna  G.  Terry,  the  superin- 
tendent says:  "If  each  missionary  were  to  visit 
one  village  a  day,  rain  or  shine,  summer  and 
winter,  week  after  week,  month  after  month, 
never  resting,  never  making  a  return  visit,  it 
would  take  eleven  years  to  complete  one  visita- 
tion. In  the  meantime  must  the  people  die,"  or 
shall  we  put  forth  a  little  extra  energy  and  send 
more  men  and  women  to  the  front?  This  is  by 
no  means  one  of  the  largest  districts  in  the 
bounds  of  the  conference,  and  in  some  of  the  con- 
ferences there  are  very  much  larger  ones,  notably 
in    West    China.       When    one   contemplates    the 


204 


CHINA'S  NEW  DA  2^ 


tremendous  influence  that  has  been  exerted  on 
China  by  the  few  workers  who  have  been  sent, 
allowing  for  all  the  influence  of  governments  and 
of  business,  he  cannot  but  feel  that  the  income 
from  the  funds  and  the  lives  invested  has  been 
great  indeed,  and  that  there  are  few  places'  in  the 
world  where  greater  results  could  have  been  ob- 
tained in  the  same  length  of  time. 
Insufficient  The  marvel   which  these  women  have  accom- 

Equipment.  plished  grows  when  it  is  remembered  with  what 
meager  and  inadequate  equipment  it  has  been 
done.  To-day  the  Boards  are  facing  the  necessity 
of  modern  structures,  adequate,  well  lighted,  san- 
itary, with  the  best  equipment,  if  they  are  to 
maintain  the  leadership  so  gloriously  won.  Miss 
Withers,  a  Baptist  missionary,  wrote  to  her  Board 
the  following  appeal,  which  might  with  equal 
justice  have  been  sent  to  many  others: — 
Government  "As  I   have  Said  often  and  often  before,  China 

Competition,  is  waking  to  her  own  needs  these  days  and,  as 
you  well  know,  has  men  and  women  in  all  walks 
of  life,  in  America  and  in  England  and  Germany, 
training  to  become  their  own  teachers.  What  has 
that  to  do  with  us  and  our  hospital?  Only  this 
-that  when  they  start  their  hospitals,  medical 
schools,  etc.,  these  people  will  be  their  own 
teachers,  and  then,  where  is  the  Christian  hos- 
pital with  its  influence  to  come  in?  Where  is 
the  opportunity  to  teach  in  the  homes  the  love 
of  the  Great  Physician?  Gone!  It  frightens  me 
to  think  about   it.      If  we  have  the   best  to  offer 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  205 

them,  they  will  not  feel  the  need  of  a  school  or 
hospital  of  their  own  here,  and  thus  our  work  can 
go  on.  Now  is  our  time,  before  these  govern- 
ment hospitals  and  schools  are  opened. 

"Then,  furthermore,  why  should  you  send  us 
out  here  to  waste  our  lives,  when  our  lives  can 
and  will  count  for  so  much,  if  only  we  have  things 
we  need  to  use  in  our  work? 

"Pardon  me  if  I  seem  to  speak  strongly  on  this  Modern  Tools 
subject.  But  the  time  has  come  when  we  must  Indispensable, 
have  these  things,  or  stop  thinking  we  can  run 
a  hospital.  If  we  ever  get  the  place  fixed  up 
once  as  it  should  be,  then  we  can  and  will  make 
it  pay  for  itself.  But  first  we  must  have  it  fur- 
nished." 

Says  a  Methodist  report  in  regard  to  the  Isa- 
bella Fisher  Hospital,  the  only  hospital  for 
women  in  the  city  of  Tientsin: — 

"The  urgent  need  of  this  work  is  a  new 
building.  The  hospital  is  a  row  of  Chinese 
rooms  with  dirt  floors  that  are  damp  and  unsani- 
tary. The  patients  are  not  as  crowded  as  they 
would  be  in  their  homes,  and  the  rooms  are 
cleaned  and  whitewashed  often.  For  twenty 
years  Dr.  Stevenson  has  worked  under  these  dis- 
couraging circumstances." 

There  is  no  greater  opportunity  for  enlightened   a  Great  Op- 
philanthropy  than  is  presented    in   China   to-day.    portunity. 
Here  are   two   hundred  million  women  and  girls, 
the   mothers    and    future    home   makers     for    one 
fourth   the  human  race.      Thev  are  desperately  in 


206 


CHINA'S  lYE  W  DA  T 


Education  of 

Native 

^Vorkers. 


^\^omen's 
Medical  Col- 
leges. 


need  of  just  what  the  hospital,  the  woman's  med- 
ical colleg-e,  the  nurses'  training  school  will  bring 
them.  One  tenth  the  sum  that  would  found  a 
memorial  hospital  in  America  will  found  one  in 
China.  What  would  endow  a  bed  in  New  York 
will  found  a  nurses'  training  school  in  China. 
A  living  memorial  that  shall  go  on  repeating  it- 
self in  blessing  to  unnumbered  generations  is 
within  the  reach  of  every  Christian  woman  in 
America  who  contemplates  a  five  or  ten  thousand 
dollar  shaft  in  a  cemetery. 

And  now  I  come  to  one  of  the  most  important 
parts  of  woman's  medical  work — the  education 
of  native  assistants.  China  must  eventually  be 
converted  by  converted  Chinese,  and  healed  by 
native  physicians.  We  welcomed  the  day  when 
we  began  to  see  departments  of  Western  medicine 
opened  in  connection  with  the  government  uni- 
versities. There  was  at  the  time  a  fight  made  on 
the  part  of  the  conservatives  in  Peking,  that 
Chinese  medicine  should  also  be  taught,  and  a 
school  and  hospital  of  Chinese  medicine  was 
opened  in  the  Southern  city  of  Peking.  So  far  as 
I  know  it  has  not  been  duplicated  anywhere  else 
in  the  empire. 

What  now  about  medical  colleges  for  Chinese 
women.  Most  Chinese  women,  who  are  medical 
graduates,  so  far  as  I  know,  have  taken  their 
courses  in  Western  colleges,  and  this  for  the 
reason  that  no  woman's  college  worth  the  name 
had    thus   far  been  opened.      Efforts    have  been 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  207 

made  in  South  China,  notably  at  Canton,  and 
something  has  been  done.  The  Norlli  China 
Educational  Union  has  undertaken  to  open  a 
woman's  medical  college  in  Peking. 

The   following  account   of  the  school    is   taken   Dr.  Glcss  auJ 
from  the   report   of   Dr.  Anna  D.  Gloss,  who   is   the  Union 
one  of  the  instructors  and  is  at  present  in  charge  : —  Medical  Col- 

"The  location  of  th's  school    in  Peking  is  for-   ,t,    °^    ^ 

rr.,  ,.  ■  ,      Women,  Pe- 

tunate  for  several  reasons.      The  climate  is  good.    i  j^. 
The  cold,  dry  winters   leave   little  to  be  desired. 
There  are  mission  stations  at  convenient  distances, 
where  girls  from  the  South  can  go  to  spend  their 
vacations  out  of  the  city. 

'*'The  lectures  are  given  in  Mandarin.  Some  of 
the  men  who  have  been  giving  lectures  in  the 
Union  Medical  College  have  consented  to  fur- 
nish the  same  lectures  to  the  women  that  have 
been  prepared  for  the  men;  thus  with  the  mini- 
mum of  labor,  giving  most  valuable  assistance  in 
the  teaching  at  the  woman's  college. 

"Three  years  of  English  is  required  for  en- 
trance, and  English  is  continued  as  a  study 
throughout  the  course,  with  the  expectation  that 
the  students  will  be  able  to  read  medical  journals 
in  English  and  thus  be  always  able  to  keep  in 
touch  with  the  most  advanced  medical  thought. 
The  course  of  study  as  planned  covers  six  years. 
The  first  three  years  are  devoted  to  lectures  and 
laboratory  work,  the  last  three  to  lectures  and 
clinical  work  in  the  women's  hospitals  of  the 
Methodist  and  Presbvterian  Missions. 


208  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

"Whatever  may  have  been  the  attitude  of  other 
countries  toward  the  advent  of  the  woman  physi- 
cian, China  certainly  has  alwavs  given  her  a  hearty 
welcome.  That  her  work  is  waiting  her  is  proven 
by  the  rapid  growth  of  the  college  in  Canton, 
and   the    royal   reception  given   its  graduates." 

Students  come  from  various  parts  of  China; 
those  from  Nanking  find  no  difficulty  in  studying 
in  the  Peking  dialect ;  those  from  Foochow,  how- 
ever, need  an  extra  year  to  study  the  new  dialect. 
Dr.  Hopkins,  one  of  the  leading  teachers  of  the 
union  medical  colleges,  says  that  the  four  young 
women  in  his  classes  are  the  equal  of  the  best 
medical  students  he  has  seen. 
Report  of  its  The  first  class  was  opened    in   February,  1908. 

Work.  Dr.  Manderson  and   Dr.  Stryker  send   this  year's 

report:  ''The  Union  IVIedical  College  for  Women 
completed  its  third  year  last  January.  The  two 
members  of  the  first  class  are  now  in  their  fourth 
year,  and  are  maintaining  the  high  standard  of 
scholarship  which  they  set  for  themselves  during 
their  first  year.  There  are  four  students  in  the 
second  class.  Thev  are  all  women  of  strong 
Christian  character;  in  the  laboratory,  in  the 
recitation  room,  and  on  examination  days  they 
have  done  excellent  work;  and  their  enthusiasm 
and  ready  responsiveness  have  been  a  constant 
inspiration  to  their  instructors. 
Interdenomi-  "Dr.  Eliza  Leonard,  of  the  American  Fresby- 
national  Co-  terian  Mission,  is  Dean  of  the  college.  During 
opera  ion.  ^j^^  year  the  Presbyterian  Mission   has   furnished 


y,  .2 

U    .2 


7'    ^ 


Q    9 

<   I. 

5!    Q 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  209 

three  instructors;  the  American  Board,  one  in- 
structor; the  Methodist  General  Board,  one 
instructor,  and  the  Methodist  Woman's  Foreign 
Missionary  vSociety,  three  instructors.  We  feel 
that  the  Presbyterian  Mission  has  been  most  gen- 
erous, since  they  have  as  yet  no  students  in  the 
college.  The  course  of  study  was  planned  for 
six  years.  Experience,  however,  has  shown  that 
by  lengthening  each  term  the  work  may  be  done 
in  a  shDrter  time.  We  now  expect  our  first  class 
will  be  ready  for  graduation  in  five  years,  or  in 
January,  1913.  As  the  number  of  students  in- 
creases, our  need  of  a  building  becomes  more 
urgent.  For  laboratory  facilities  this  year  we  are 
indebted  to  the  Woman's  Union  College  in  the 
American  Board  Mission.  Mrs.  Jewell  has  pro- 
vided dormitory  space  in  the  Mary  Porter  Game- 
well  School,  and  Miss  Powell  has  arranged  to 
have  meals  served  for  the  medical  students  in 
the  Sleeper  Davis  Memorial  Hospital.  Part  of 
the  lectures  and  recitations  have  been  given  in 
the   Methodist  compound." 

The  college  at  Canton  under  Dr.  Mary  Fulton,  Work  at 
mentioned  by  Dr.  Gloss,  has  had  the  advantage  of  Canton, 
being  in  a  port  city  that  has  long  been  open  to 
foreign  intercourse,  where  prejudice  has  been 
broken  down,  where  the  advantages  of  a  great 
work  for  men  has  long  been  an  example.  We 
may  learn  a  lesson  from  the  success  of  this  col- 
lege. Wliat  has  happened  in  Canton  may  happen 
in  any  one  of  a  dozen  other  cities. 


210 


CHINAS  NEW  DAT 


Training 
Nurses. 


Uncared-foi 
Sufferers. 


Connected  with  almost  every  hospital  there  is 
a  class  of  young  women  who  are  studying  to  be- 
come trained  nurses  or  helpers.  This  harmonizes 
with  the  whole  genius  of  Chinese  medicine,  for 
as  we  have  indicated,  the  Chinese  doctor,  under 
the  old  regime,  was  nothing  other  than  a  man 
with  a  disposition  to  prescribe,  while  the  mid- 
wife, who  takes  the  place  of  the  doctor  for 
women,  is  only  a  woman  with  a  certain  amount 
of  experience. 

The  necessity  for  trained  nurses  is  apparent 
when  we  come  to  consider  the  way  the  sick  are 
left  uncared  for.  In  the  case  of  a  necrosed  bone, 
tubercular  joints  or  glands,  or  other  similar 
affections,  the  patient  is  often  removed  from  the 
living  rooms  to  some  outhouse.  This  is  one  of 
the  common  sights  a  physician  is  called  upon  to 
witness.  A  little  child,  a  beautiful  young  girl, 
a  mother,  or  an  old  woman,  lying  in  some  out- 
house, shut  off  from  all  the  members  of  her  fam- 
ily, is  left  to  lie  uncared  for  and  alone.  If  the 
family  is  poor,  and  the  relatives  cannot  afford  to 
hire  an  attendant,  the  poor  sufferer  lies  alone 
from  morning  till  night  and  from  night  till  morn- 
ing, the  paper  windows  all  gone  and  swarms  of 
flies  buzzing  about  her.  Thus  she  awaits  death 
to  relieve  her.  The  physicians  tell  us  that  there 
are  thousands  of  such  suffering  ones  to-day  in 
China  where  an  operation,  with  the  wound 
properly  treated  and  dressed,  would  restore  the 
sufferer  to  her  family. 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  211 

The  character  of  the  missionary  physician  has   Character  of 
been  one  of  the  greatest  assets  of  the   Christian   the  Mission- 
Church    in  China.      It   may   be  doubted  whether  ary  Pliysi- 
any  group  of  men  and  women  have  done  more  to 
interpret    Christ    to   the    Chinese   than    have   the 
medical  missionaries.    The  stories  of  Dr.  Eleanor 
Chesnut  and  of   Dr.  Macdonald   Westwater,  "the 
saviour   of    Liao-yang, "  are   instances    in    point. 
A  less  familiar  example  is  the  part  taken  by  Dr. 
Macklin  in  the  recent  capitulation  of   Nanking  to 
the   revolutionary  forces.      Dr.  Macklin  is  at   the 
head  of  the  Christian  hospital    in  Nanking.      An 
article     in     the     "North      China     Daily    News" 
(Peking)  of  December  8th,  says  : — 

"A  prominent  part  in  the  capitulation  was 
taken  by  Dr.  Macklin,  who  was  accompanied  by 
the  Rev.  Frank  Garrett  and  Mr.  Hales.  Dr. 
Macklin's  story  is  full  of  interest. 

"It  appears  that  the  day  before  the  capitula-  Dr.  Macklin 
tion,  an  Imperialist  General  Chao,  in  command  o*  Nanking, 
of  one  thousand  men,  had  two  of  his  fingers  dam- 
aged by  a  piece  of  shell  or  a  bullet,  and  that  in 
the  afternoon  Dr.  Macklin  operated  on  him  and 
fixed  him  up.  He  told  Dr.  Macklin  that  he  and 
his  men  were  anxious  to  surrender  but  that  they 
were  afraid  to,  and  that  he  was  not  going  to 
leave  his  men  in  the  lurch.  Dr.  Macklin  told 
him  that  he  had  better  go  round  and  get  together 
a  few  leading  men  for  a  conference  which  they 
could  hold  at  his  (Dr.  Macklin's)  house. 


212 


CHINA'S  NE  W  DA  1 


Arranges 
Capitulation 
to  Revolu- 
tionaries. 


"This  was  apparently  done,  and  the  conference 
decided  to  surrender,  whereupon  Dr.  Macklin 
volunteered  to  go  out  and  talk  to  the  Revolu- 
tionaries, and  his  offer  was  eagerly  accepted. 
He,  with  a  party,  got  down  to  the  gate  (presum- 
ably the  one  opposite  Purple  Mountain — |>i'obably 
the  Taiping  Gate)  about  4  a.  m.  and  started  to 
dig  a  way  through  (the  gate  had  been  filled  up 
like  the  other).  In  the  meantime  Dr.  Macklin 
went  up  into  the  wall  with  lanterns,  which  lan- 
terns immediately  drew  shell  fire,  presumably 
from  Purple  Mountain.  Macklin  put  his  lamp 
out  quick,  but  some  of  the  Chinese  apparently 
didn't  know  how  to  put  the  lamps  out,  and  Dr. 
Macklin  hurried  round  and  did  it  for  them.  The 
firing  continued,  so  they  moved  down  off  the 
wall  and  waited  a  bit.  Just  as  dawn  began  to 
break  they  went  up  on  the  wall  again  at  another 
spot  and  this  time  apparently  succeeded  in  attract- 
ing attention  not  only  from  Revolutionaries  but 
from  quite  another  and  undesirable  quarter  also. 

"There  was  at  this  time  still  an  Imperialist 
force  (estimated  at  750)  defending  the  Tartar 
city,  and  directly  some  Revolutionaries  advanced 
in  response  to  the  signals  of  Dr.  Macklin's  party, 
this  force  opened  fire  both  on  the  Revolutionaries 
who    retired,    and    on    Dr.    Macklin's   people." 

The  article  then  goes  on  to  show  how  Dr. 
Macklin  dug  his  way  through  the  loose  rubble 
that  filled  the  gate  and  ied  a  party  of  Chinese 
toward  the  revolutionary  lines,  although   in  con- 


AfEDICAL    MISSIONS  213 

stant  peril  through  the  whistling  bullets.  Through 
his  efforts  a  conference  was  arranged  and  the 
force  in  the  Tartar  city  persuaded  to  surrender. 
A  large  number  of  the  wounded  were  brought 
into  his  hospital  for  treatment,  and  then  the 
doctor  was  put  in  charge  of  the  relief  work. 

The  article  continues: — 

"Such  relief  is  only  to  be  given  by  his  organi-  in  ctarge  of 
zation  in  return  for  work,  and  I  understand  that  Relief  Work, 
this  is  to  take  the  form  of  colonization  of  the 
large  tracts  of  waste  land  inside  the  city,  hitherto 
the  property  of  Manchu  pensioners  who  would 
neither  work  it  themselves  or  allow  it  to  be 
worked.  In  this  work  he  has  the  candid  assistance 
of  the  new  officials,  and  he  is  very  optimistic. 

"According  to  Dr.  Macklin,  all  private  prop- 
erty, even  of  Imperial  officials,  is  being  scrupu- 
lously respected,  and  the  land  which  is  to  be  taken 
by  the  authorities  for  his  scheme  is  only  public 
land  or  the  land  granted  to  the  pensioners  re- 
ferred to  above  (corruptly  according  to  the  Revo- 
lutionaries). 

"Whatever  maybe  the  eventual  fate  of  these'land 
colonies,'  there  is  no  doubt  that  his  relief  schemes 
are  well  worthy  of  support.  It  is  only  fair  to  Dr. 
Macklin,  however,  to  add  that  he  never  asked  the 
writer  to  draw  attention  to  his  plans — he  just  told 
me  about  them  very  enthusiastically,  and  I  was 
struck  first  by  the  rapidity  with  which  he  has  got 
to  work,  and  secondly  by  the  great  fact  that  there 
at  least  is  a  real  effort  not  to  pauperize." 


214  CHINAS   NEW  DAT 

Dr.    Macklin    had    previously    written     under 
date  of  October  20th  : — 

"I  am  now  circulating  lots  of  literature.      It  is 
a  great  time,  and  literature  counts.    .    .    . 
"Just  enjoying  the  revolution.    ... 
"I  enclose  a  card  of  Mr.  Kung,  who   Is  in  the 
seventieth-odd  generation  from  Confucius  (Kung 
Fo  Yei).      He   is  a  graduate,  I  believe,  of  Yale, 
and  a  student  of  finance.      I  had  a  long  talk  with 
him  on    finance    and    single   tax.      I    had    a    long- 
talk   the    other   day  with  VVu  Ting  Fang.      They 
may    call    me    in   to    help    them   on   taxation.      It 
takes  with  intelligent  Chinese.      Now  is  the  psy- 
chological moment  for  hard  work.      I  want  to  get 
literature    in    the    hands    of    the    peace    commis- 
sioners, " 
A  Missionary        We  have  here  the  cheering  spectacle  of  a  medi- 
Reformer.         cal  missionary  who  is  engaged  not  only  in  reliev- 
ing physical    suffering   but   has   time    as  well    to 
study    into    the    single   tax  philosophy  of  Henry 
George  and   to  become  an  active  propagandist  of 
this  one  of  the  advanced  applications  of  Christian 
theory  to  political   practice.      This    is  illustrative 
•  of  a  big  section  of  missionary  activity  that  seldom 

gets  catalogued. 
Summing  Up:        lu  this  chapter  emphasis   has   been  put   on   the 
Need  of  Phy-   physical   need  of   China  for  what  Western  medi- 
sicians  and         cine  can    do,  and  upon   the  spiritual    bearings    of 
that  work  on  the  permeation  of  the  nation  by  the 
good    tidings   of   liberty   to  body   and   soul.      In 
closing    I    wish    to    emphasize   still    further   the 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  215 

urgency  of  the  present  crisis.  There  are  hospi- 
tals in  China  which  have  been  closed  for  a  year 
at  a  time  for  want  of  physicians.  All  are  under- 
manned both  with  physicians  and  nurses.  The 
loudest  call  is  a  call  for  service.  Dr.  Ellen  C. 
Potter  of  the  Woman's  Medical  College  in  Phil- 
adelphia has  said  in  a  recent  paper: — 

We  now  face  and  have  faced  for  several  years  an 
ever-increasing  demand  for  medical  missionaries  (both 
men  and  women)  and  an  alarming  decrease  in  the 
supply. 

During  the  last  ten  years  there  has  been  a  marked 
decrease  in  the  number  of  men  and  women  studying 
medicine  for  the  following  reasons: — 

First. — A  systematic  campaign  based  on  financial 
considerations  has  been  waged  to  decrease  tlie  number 
of  those  entering  upon  the  study  of  medicine  because 
of  previous  "over  production"  ;  this  over  production, 
however,  was  considered  only  in  relation  to  our  own 
country.  \ 

Reports  of  the  council  on  medical  education  of  the 
American  Medical  Association  show  that  the  number 
of  medical  students  in  the  United  Slates  in  1900  was 
25,171;  in  1910,  21,526.  The  total  number  of  women 
students  in  1904  was  1,129;  in  1910,  907. 

The  total  number  of  medical  graduates  in  1900, 
5,214;  in  1910,  3,976,  of  which  number  only  3,544 
passed  the  State  Boards  of  Medical  Examiners. 

Bulletin  No.  4,  Carnegie  Foundation  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Teaching,  page  154,  states  that  in  consid- 
ering the  reconstruction  of  medical  education  in  the 
United  States  it  is  estimated  that  an  annual  production 
of  3,500  physicians  will  be  necessary  to  meet  the  de- 
mands in  this  country  for  at  least  the  next  generation. 
When    these    figures    are    compared    with     those    given 


216  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

above  it  is  evident  that  in  the  jear  1910  there  was  prac- 
tically no  surplus  for  foreign  service. 

Second. — The  increased  academic  requirements  for 
admission  to  medical  schools  has  materially  cut  down 
the  number  of  students.  This  tertds  to  improve  the 
quality  of  the  average  physician,  but  bars  out  admirable 
candidates  with  good  general  culture  yef  lacking  in 
certain  technical  academic  counts. 

Third. — The  increased  cost  of  maintenance  of  medi- 
cal schools,  because  of  the  large  demands  in  laboratory 
equipment,  has  increased  tuition  fees;  (note  2),  and  the 
high  cost  of  food  stuffs  has  increased  living  expenses, 
thus  excluding  many  candidates  on  the  financial  basis 
alone. 

Fourth. — Last  but  by  no  means  least,  many  young 
women  are  deterred  from  the  study  of  medicine  by  the 
protests  of  friends  and  relatives  who  cannot  endure 
that  they  should  brand  themselves  as  "strong-minded" 
(for  say  what  you  will  women  physicians  are  still 
looked  upon  as  a  little  "queer"  if  not  actually 
"peculiar"). 

This  then  accounts  for  the  decreased  number  of  med- 
ical candidates  before  Foreign  Mission  Boards. 

In  the  April  number  of  the  "Intercollegian"  (1911), 
I  find  the  medical  needs  of  many  Boards  enumerated, 
and  I  find  sixty-one  men  and  thirty  women  physicians  and 
twenty-nine  trained  nurses  needed  at  once,  while  many  of  the 
Boards  state  that  they  have  been  searching  for  candidates  for 
from  three  to  five  years. 

How  are  we  to  work  out  the  solution  of  this  problem 
and  to  bring  more  women  into  the  field  of  medicine? 

First. — Let  the  Boards  co-operate  in  the  establishment 
of  an  Information  and  Press  Bureau.  Let  them  make 
it  a  business  to  get  in  touch  with  the  academic  student 
world  through  its  college  journals  (remembering  that 
not  one  undergraduate  in  a  hundred  sees  "The  Inter- 
collegian" or  her  denominational  mission  papers  unless 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  217 

already  committed  to  the  service  ot  missions),  through 
vesper  services,  missionary  meetings,  Christian  Asso- 
ciations, Summer  Conferences,  demonstrating  the  defi- 
nite need  in  specified  places  of  medical  workers. 

Let  this  Press  Bureau  reach  the  nurses  through  their 
local  clubs  and  other  organizations  and  through  the 
nursing  journals.  The  young  women  who  have  neither 
gone  to  college  nor  yet  to  study  nursing,  and  who  are 
still  searching  for  their  places  in  the  world's  work,  can 
be  told  of  the  need  in  a  very  definite  way  through  the 
young  people's  church  societies  and  church  papers,  and 
through  the  various  summer  conferences. 

Second. — Let  the  Boards  themselves  establish,  or  influence 
wealthy  men  and  women  of  the  various  denominations  to 
establish,  scholarships  in  w^isely  chosen  medical  schools,  and 
let  the  scholarships  cover  more  than  mere  tuition,  that 
the  student  may  be  relieved  of  all  strain  except  that 
incident  to  her  studies. 

Third. — Have  a  medical  member  on  each  Board. 
This  medical  representative  should  be  not  only  a  capable 
practitioner,  but  should  have  some  knowledge  of  hos- 
pital management,  and  if  possible  also  of  medical  teach- 
ing, that  she  may  give  the  best  service  to  the  Board. 

Fourth. — Establish  a  system  of  short  term  medical 
missionary  service — two  or  three  years — as  has  been  suc- 
cessfully done  in  some  other  lines.  These  short  ser- 
vices will  be  of  great  value  in  easing  the  work  for  the 
permanent  incumbent,  making  vacation  and  furlough 
more  easily  possible  and  in  some  instances  securing  for 
the  Boards  permanent  workers. 

There  are  two  fields  to  be  cultivated  if  we  would 
fully  meet  the  need  for  medical  workers — that  at  home, 
which  we  have  just  considered,  and  the  field  in  the 
Orient,  for  the  women  of  the  East  are  capable,  as  are 
ou-r  own,  of  becoming  good  physicians  and  nurses. 
In  the  very  nature  of  things  we  cannot  expect  to  send 
from  this  country  all  the  medical  help  that  is  needed. 


Second  Need 


218  CHINA'S   NEW  DAT 

Let  our  Boards  co-operate  for  medical  education  in 
the  East;  selecting  an  already  established  hospital  in  a 
large  city,  or  establishing  a  new  union  hospital  around 
which  it  will  be  possible  to  develop  a  medical  school. 

We,  as  women,  should  remember  that  the  teaching  of 
these  young  women  of  the  East  must  be  largely  by 
women;  therefore  the  great  weight  of  responsibility  for 
the  suffering  women  of  the  Orient  rests  on  us. 

The  suggestions  of  Dr,  Potter  are  so  weighty 
with  good  sense  that  I  have  ventured  to  quote 
her  quite  fully.  Along  some  such  lines  not  only 
the  Women's  Boards  but  the  members  of  local 
auxiliaries  must  work  if  this  most  urgent  need  is 
to  be  met. 

A  second  need  has  already  been  disclosed,  and 
"""    •*       ^    that  is  for  modern,  scientific,  adequate  equipment 

or  equipment.  '  '  i  t.      jt 

in  both  buildings  and  apparatus.  This  need  may 
best  be  met  by  interesting  Christians  of  ample 
means  in  the  definite  needs  of  individual  hospi- 
tals. These  needs  can  be  obtained  from  the 
Boards,  and  if  brought  home  to  those  already  in- 
terested in  hospital  work  here  at  home  they  could 
be  met  without  a  doubt. 

The  religion  of  the  Great  Physician  must  be 
adequately  presented  to  the  Chinese  if  that  great 
empire  is  to  be  won  for  Christ. 

ILLUSTRATIVE    QUOTATIONS 

"The  call  for  women  doctors  is  especially  emphasized 
(in  China)  as  their  services  are  most  acceptable  and,  as 
a  rule,  essential  to  the  treatment  which  suffering  wom- 
anhood often  needs.  Facilities  for  the  medical  educa- 
tion of  the  Chinese,  both  men  and  women,  are  greatly 
needed  and  produce  results  of  large  usefulness  as  a 
missionary  agency. 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS  219 

"The  value  placed  upon  woman's  work  for  woman 
in  China  is  frequently  referred  to  with  much  urgency  in 
the  replies  of  missionaries."  ("Report  of  Edinburgh 
World  Missionary  Conference,"  Vol.  I,  p.  305.) 

"For  reasons  already  stated  China's  women  are  a 
strategic  element  to  be  won  ;  yet  unless  specially  sought 
after,  they  cannot  be  largely  affected  by  the  gospel. 
Attendance  upon  an  ordinary  street  chapel  is  out  of  the 
question,  and  even  attendance  at  Sunday  church  service 
calls  for  a  willingness  to  face  criticism  and  misunder- 
standing which  few  are  ready  to  meet,  particularly 
among  the  wealthy  and  otTicial  classes."  ("Edin- 
burgh World  Missionary  Conference  Report,"  Vol. 
I,  page  94. ) 

"In  1893  Baroness  Burdette-Coutts  prepared  for  the 
Chicago  World's  Fair  a  book  of  about  five  hundred 
pages  devoted  to  the  details  of  woman's  organized  work 
in  charity  and  philanthropy  in  Great  Britain.  One  thou- 
sand one  hundred  and  sixty-four  societies  were  selected 
for  the  inquiries:  362  societies  in  aid  of  children,  102 
in  aid  of  girlhood,  130  for  the  friendless,  200  in  aid  of 
women,  62  orders  of  deaconesses.  Two  hundred  and 
ninety  of  these  reported  84,129  voluntary  workers  and 
4,814  paid  workers.  There  are  by  a  carefully  prepared 
and  most  conservative  estimate  in  the  English-speaking 
world  of  to-day  not  less  than  two  million  women  locally 
known  as  workers  to  be  depended  upon  in  philanthropic 
movements  ;  women  so  situated  in  respect  to  their  home 
duties  that  they  can  contend  with  the  hunger  and  dirt  of 
the  outside  world,  and  this  they  do. 

"If  the  other  great  religions  of  the  world  are  as  fruit- 
ful of  practical  altruism  as  Christianity  there  ought  to 
be  one  million  philanthropic  women  workers  in  the 
Turkish  Empire,  five  million  Hindu  women  devoting 
themselves  to  philanthropy,  and  seven  million  of 
Chinese  women  in  the  service  of  humanitv. 


220  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

"The  attitude  of  Christianity  throughout  Christendom 
toward  poverty  is  emphasized  by  a  contrast  with  the  great 
ethnic  religions  as  to  their  surplus  altruistic  energy  in 
aid  of  the  poor.  Christianity  maintains  in  non-Christian 
lands  100  institutions  for  lepers,  247  foundling  homes  and 
orphanages,  651  training  schools  fornurses  and  physi- 
cians, 379  hospitals  and  783  dispensaries."  (Condensed 
from    Tenney's    "Contrasts    in  Social  Progress.") 

"  'Little  did  I  dream,  when  sending  my  money  to 
China,  that  a  Chinese  girl  would  come  over  here  and 
lead  my  own  daughter  to  Christ,'  said  a  Christian 
woman  in  Ohio,  as  she  gratefully  acknowledged  that 
Dr.  HU  King  Eng  had  been  the  means  under  God  of 
winning  her  child  to  Christ. 

"In  1896,  five  years  after  Dr.  Hii's  return,  two  other 
Chinese  girls,  Ida  Kahn  and  Mary  Stone,  graduated 
with  honor  from  the  medical  department  of  the  Michi- 
gan University."      (Methodist  Leaflet.) 

QUESTIONS    FOR    FURTHER    STUDY 

1.  What  are  the  Chinese  practices  of  midwifery? 

2.  In  what  ways  is  it  advantageous  to  train  a  Chinese 
woman  in  medicine  in  her  own  country? 

3.  Howdo  medical  missions  strongly  commend  thegos- 
pel  ?     Howdo  they  diffuse  a  knowledge  of  Christianity? 

4.  Which  do  you  regard  as  most  needed  in  China, 
general  hospitals,  or  hospitals  for  women  and  children? 

5.  What  deductions  would  you  make  in  regard  to  the 
ability  of  Chinese  women  from  the  first  Chinese  women 
physicians? 

6.  How  many  more  modern  hospitals  ought  China  to 
have  if  she  were  to  be  as  well  provided  as  the  United 
States? 

7.  How  many  hospitals  should  we  have  in  the  United 
States  if  we  were  no  better  provided  than  China? 

8.  What  part  may  the  missionaries  play  in  helping 
China  to  make  the  change  to  modern  medicine? 

9.  Why  is  the  present  moment  critical  ? 


CHAPTER    VI 


THE    PRINTED    PAGE 


One  of  the  miracle  workers  of  the  present  day  Power  of 
is  the  printed  book.  It  was  to  be  expected  that  Print, 
one  of  the  signs  of  China's  awakening  would  be 
an  immense  increase  in  her  demand  for  books  of 
Western  learning.  It  has  been  impossible  to 
translate  and  circulate  with  sufficient  rapidity 
books  to  satisfy  this  new  hunger  of  the  mind. 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  chapter  first  to  show  the  Aimof  Chap- 
high  relative  importance  of  literary  agencies  in  ter. 
shaping  the  new  life  in  China  because  of  her 
pre-eminent  reverence  for  literature,  second  to 
recount  the  agencies  of  the  Christian  Church 
already  at  work,  and  third  to  stimulate  the 
further  development  of  such  agencies. 

I  was  talking  one  day  with  a  Chinese  gentle- 
man, and  the  conversation  drifted  to  the  various 
influences  that  were  being  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  Chinese  Government  and  the  Chinese  people. 

''What   do  you   think,"  I    asked   him,  "is  the   Methods  of 
best  method  of  bringing  any  subject  to  the  atten-   Iifl"«n"ng 

r     1  1      1     -, » J  the  Chinese. 

tion  of  the  people  as  a  whole.? 

"What  do  you  mean.?"  he  asked. 

"Well,"  I  replied,  "there  are  various  ways 
we  have  in  the  West  of  arousing  the  people  and 


222 


CHINAS  NEW  DAT 


Chinese  Love 
Literature. 


Nursery 
Rhymes. 


2[etting  their  attention.  One  is  by  lecturing, 
another  by  preaching,  another  by  schools  and 
education,  and  another  by  writing  books  and 
tracts,  and  publishing  newspapers." 

"Two  of  these  methods  are  familiar  to  the 
Chinese,  and  have  been  for  centuries,  and  two 
are  not. " 

"Which  are  familiar.'"   I  asked. 

"Education  and  literature  are  methods  which 
the  Chinese  have  used  for  twenty  to  thirty  centu- 
ries to  arouse  and  interest  the  people,  "  he  replied. 

"What  about  preaching  and  lecturing.''"  I 
asked. 

"They  are  new  to  us,"  he  replied. 

"Then  of  education  and  literature,  which  has 
the  wider  influence.'"   I  asked. 

"Education  has  a  deeper  and  more  lasting  in- 
fluence, but  literature  has  more  rapid  and  wider 
results." 

"From  the  cradle  to  the  grave,"  he  went  on 
to  say,  "the  Chinese  love  literature.  The  child, 
with  open  mouth  and  twinkling  eyes,  listens  to 
the  nurse,  in  the  city  or  in  the  country,  repeating 
rhymes  appropriate  to  its  particular  neighbor- 
hood. I  have  seen  the  little  girl  in  the  city  witli 
a  little  red  and  black  spotted  beetle  on  her  finger 
repeating, — 

Ladjbug,  ladybug  fly  away,  do, 
Fly  to  the  mountain  and  feed  upon  dew, 
Feed  upon  dew  and  sleep  on  a  rug, 
And  then  fly  away  like  a  good  little  bug. 


THE   PRINTED    PAGE  223 

"Thousands  of  such  rhymes  may  be  found  in 
all  parts  of  China." 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "I  am  aware  that  China  is 
rich  in  such  nursery  lore." 

"Leaving  the  nursery,"  he  went  on,  "we  have  Primers, 
books  appropriate  for  children  of  all  ages.  As 
soon  as  the  little  boy  is  ready  to  enter  upon  his 
studies,  he  is  given  a  primer  that  will  instill  into 
him  all  the  chief  incidents  of  the  history  of  the 
past,  and  another  that  will  help  him  to  under- 
stand what  is  the  proper  thing  to  be  done  under 
all  social  and  human  relations." 

"That  is  the  'Ti  Tze  Kuei,'  or  Rules  of  Be- 
havior for  Children,  is  it  not?"  I  asked,  for  I 
had  already  translated  the  primer  into  English, 
and  was  struck  with  many  of  the  good  bits  of 
advice  it  contains.  For  instance  among  the  very 
first  lines  the  boy  is  taught  that: — 

Love  in  each  heart  for  all  people  should  spring, 
Specially  to  the  benevolent  cling, 
Strength  if  you've  left,  be  it  small,  be  it  great, 
Spend  it  in  study,  both  early  and  late. 

In  another  place  the  boy  is  taught  that: — 

When  riding  or  driving,  jou  always  descend 

From  your   horse  or  your  cart,  when  you  meet   with   a 

friend, 
Nor  remount   till  your   friend    has  passed    by,  I    should 

say, 
A.  hundred,  or  more  than  that,  steps  on  his  way. 

In  the  chapter  on  education  we  have  given  a 
definite  outline  of  the  literature  that  the  Chinese 


224  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

have  prepared  for  the  education  of  their  youth. 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  here  that  practically 
all  of  this  literature  is  designed  with  a  definite 
aim  of  preparing  boys  for  official  life,  and  as 
there  was  no  possibility  of  girls  occupying  any 
official  position,  when  the  education  of  girls  was 
mentioned  their  first  question  was: — 
Why  Educate  "What  do  you  w^ant  to  educate  a  girl  for?  She 
Girls?  has  no  prospect  of  getting  into  official  life." 

"Well,"  you  answer,  "an  education  will  make 
her  larger,  broader,  better;  more  able  to  per- 
form the  duties  of  life,  and  better  able  to  take  a 
place  beside  her  husband." 

"But  there  is  no  place  beside  her  husband  for 
her  to  take,"  he  answers.  "Her  place  is  in  the 
home,  having  babies  and  taking  care  of  the 
family.  There  is  no  place  in  social  or  official 
life  for  a  man  and  a  woman  to  be  side  by  side. 
The  only  place  where  she  can  influence  or  advise 
him  is  in  their  own  private  apartments." 

"Well,"  you  answer,  "teach  her  to  read  so 
that  she  can  familiarize  herself  with  history, 
poetry,  philosophy,  fiction,  and  have  some  way 
by  which  to  entertain  herself  when  she  is  lonely." 
Do  Not  Want  "No,"  he  replies,  "we  do  not  want  her  to 
Her  to  Read,  read  novels.  The  novels  are  not  fit  for  her  to 
read." 

It  is  indeed  worthy  of  note,  that  while  the 
Chinese  classics  are  among  the  purest  in  the 
world,  containing  not  a  single  word  which  could 
not  be  read  before  a  mixed  audience,  their  fiction 


THE    PRINTED    PAGE  225 

is  of  a  very  different  style.  Men  who  have  spent 
years  reading  Chinese  novels  with  the  design  of 
finding  one  that  is  fit  to  transhite  into  English, 
have  given  up  in  despair.  Their  novels  are  too 
realistic.  They  have  no  idea  of  omitting  the 
unmentionable  things  of  life,  but  make  them  a 
part  of  their  plot  and  their  conversations.  The 
"Hung  Lou  Meng"  or  Dream  of  the  Red  Cham- 
ber, is  one  of  their  largest  and  best  novels,  and 
describes  Chinese  life  better  than  any  but  a 
Chinese  could  describe  it,  and  has  been  read  by 
more  people,  I  have  no  doubt,  than  any  other 
novel  in  the  world.  But  it  would  be  impossible 
to  think  of  reading  it  in  a  mixed  company. 

I  cannot  think  of  Chinese  poetry  without  wish-   chj^ggg 
ing  that  we  had  some  poetical    genius  who  could   Poetry  by 
give  us  a  worthy   translation  of   some  of   China's   Women, 
best    productions.      Dr.    Martin    has   given    us   a 
very  good   translation  of   an  inscription  on  a   fan 
written  by  a  Indy  of  the  court — a  concubine — and 
presented  to  the  Emperor  about  18   B.  C.      It  is 
a   very    touching    simile   couched    in  choice   lan- 
guage:— 

Of  fresh  new  silk  all  snowy  white, 

And  round  as  harvest  moon, 
A  pledge  of  purity  and  love, 

A  small,  but  welcome  boon. 

While  summer  lasts,  borne  in  the  hand 

Or  folded  on  the  breast, 
'Twill  gently  soothe  thy  burning  brow, 

And  charm  thee  to  thy  rest. 


226  CHINA'  S  NE  W  DAT 

But  ah!  when  autumn  frosts  descend, 
And  winter  winds  blow  cold, 

No  longer  sought,  no  longer  loved, 
'Twill  lie  in  dust  and  inould. 

This  silken  fan  then  deign  accept, 

Sad  emblem  of  my  lot, 
Caressed  and  cherished  for  an  hour. 

Then  speedily  forgot. 

Book  of  Prof.  Herbert  A.  Giles,  a  prince  of  translators, 

Poetry.  among  other  good   things    has  given  us  a  small 

volume  of  "Chinese  Poetry  in  English  Verse," 
from  which  the  following  specimen,  familiar  to 
every  schoolboy,  is  taken.  It  is  from  Su 
Tung-p'o,  whose  name  itself  is  poetic.  He  was 
a  great  poet  as  well  as  a  great  official  who  lived 
on  the  east  slope  of  a  mountain,  and  so  he  usually 
signed  himself  East  Slope  Su.      He  says: — 

One  half  hour  of  a  night  in  spring  is  worth  a  thousand 
taels  ; 

When  the  clear  sweet  scent  of  flowers  is  felt  and  the 
moon  her  luster  pales. 

When  mellowed  sounds  of  song  and  flute  are  borne 
along  the  breeze, 

And  through  the  stilly  scene  the  swing  sounds  swish- 
ing from  the  trees. 

The  Tang  ^   wisli    it   were  possible   to  give  some   idea  of 

Poetry.  the  period  of   the  Tang  poetry,  from  the  seventh 

to  the  tenth    centuries — the  dark  ages  of  Europe. 

It  is  the  most  brilliant  epoch  in  Chinese  history. 

The  reign  of  the  Emperor  Ming  Huang  was  the 

focal  point  of  the  period — the   Elizabethan   Age. 

He   was   himself   a   general,  a    poet,  a    patron    of 


THE   PRINTED   PAGE  227 

literature  in  all  its  forms,  and  he  established 
schools  in  every  village.  He  was  a  lover  of  music, 
and,  as  we  have  indicated  elewhere,  it  was  he 
who  took  a  trip  to  the  moon  with  his  magician, 
who  threw  his  staff  into  the  air  and  it  became  a 
dazzling  bridge  on  which  the  two  could  travel. 
In  the  mansion  of  the  moon  they  beheld  such 
performances,  and  listened  to  such  strains,  as 
enabled  him  after  his  return  to  establish  a  college 
for  the  education  and  drilling  of  young  men  and 
maidens  for  the  operatic  performances  played  by 
what  is  called  "the  young  people  of  the  Pear 
Garden."  Certain  it  is  that  a  new  style  of  music, 
of  a  more  joyous  nature,  was  created  at  this  time 
to  take  the  place  of  the  stiff  and  solemn  kind  that 
was  then  in  vogue. 

It  is  his  encouragement  of  poetry  upon  v/hich   Poetry  as 
his  fame  rests,  and  by  which  he  did  most  for  the  Abundant  as 
literary  development  of  his  people.     Wherever  a    water, 
poet  was  found, — and   it  is  noteworthy  that  most 
of  them  came   from  the   mountainous  regions  of 
Szechuan,   or  the  beautiful   lake   regions  of  the 
central  provinces, — he  was  invited,  urged,  and  if 
necessary,  forced  to  appear  at  court.      During  this 
reign  poetry  was  as   abundant  as  water,  and  was 
taken    by   all    classes   with   greater   avidity   than 
they  took   their   food.     It   is  said   of   one  of  the 
officials  that  he  spent  much  of  his  time  under  some 
fine  trees  in  his  courtyard  recitingpoetry,  and  when 
called  upon  by  anyone,  he  would  send  word  to  his 
visitor  that  he  was  engaged   in  official  business 


228  CHINA  S  NE  W  DA  T 

and  must  beg  to  be  excused.  It  is  said  also  of 
one  of  the  poets  that  having  been  raised  to  the 
position  of  Secretary  of  the  Imperial  Banqueting 
Court,  his  poetry  gained  such  an  influence  over 
the  ladies  of  the  palace  that  they  never  wearied 
of  repeating  his  verses;  while  of  another, 'we  are 
told  that  having  been  captured  by  a  band  of  rob- 
bers, the  captain,  when  he  learned  his  name  ex- 
claimed, "What,  the  poet!  Well  you  need  not 
be  afraid,  we  won't  hurt  you.  We  like  your 
poetry  too  well,  make  us  some  now."  To  which 
he  at  once  responded  with  the  following  verse:  — 

Robbers  Love     The    rainy    mists   blow  gently  o'er    the    village    by    the 
Poetry.  stream, 

When  from  the  leafy  forest  glades  the  brigand    daggers 

gleam, 
And  yet  there  is  no  need   to  fear  nor  step  from  out   the 

way, 
For  more  than  half  the  world  consists  of  bigger  rogues 
than  they. 

The  men  loved  poetry,  the  woinen  loved  poetry, 
even  the  robbers  in  the  cornfields  loved  the  poets 
and  their  songs. 
Ptiilosopliy.  For  the  sake  of  Chinese  literature  it  would  be 

of  interest  to  review  Chinese  philosophy  in  the 
two  periods  B.  C.  600-A.  D.  97,  and  that  of  the 
eleventh  century  of  our  era.  All  that  can  be  given 
concerning  their  literature,  however,  will  simply 
be  to  show  what  great  things  the  Chinese  have 
done  in  this  realm,  in  order  to  show  that  we  must 
do  something  worth  while  if  we  expect  to  effect 


THE   PRINTED   PAGE  229 

any  changes  in  their  mode  of  thought.  A  page 
or  two  must  be  devoted  to  some  phases  of  Chinese 
philosophical  discussions. 

More  than  three  hundred  years  before  Christ  Dispute 
there  was  begun  a  discussion  on  "the  nature  of  About  Nature 
man,  "which  lasted  for  more  than  a  thousand 
years.  It  was  pursued  with  the  greatest 
thoroughness  and  aroused  widespread  interest. 
One  school  of  philosophy  said  that  the  nature  of 
man  was  evil,  another  that  it  was  good,  a  third 
declared  that  it  was  neither  good  nor  evil,  while 
a  fourth  taught  that  it  was  both  good  and  evil. 

A    last   effort    was    made   to    harmonize  these 
different  views  by  Han  Yu,  "the  Prince  of  Liter- 
ature," about  800  A.  D.      "The  nature  of  man," 
said  he,  "dates  from  the  beginning  of  life;  the 
feelings     date    from    his    contact     with    external 
things,  or  birth.      According  to  their  nature  there 
are  three  grades  of  men: — 
The  Superior, 
The  Middle,  and 
The  Inferior. 

"The  Superior  grade  is  good,  and  good  only; 
the  Middle  grade  is  capable  of  being  led,  it  may 
rise  to  the  superior  or  sink  to  the  inferior;  the 
Inferior  is  evil,  and  evil  only.  The  question 
then  arises  as  to  whether  the  nature  of  the 
Superior  and  Inferior  grades  can  be  changed.  I 
reply, — By  study  the  Superior  may  become  more 
intelligent;  by  restraint,  or  awe  of  power,  the 
Inferior    comes    to    have    few    faults.       But    the 


230  CHINA'S   NEW  DAT 

grades  have  been  pronounced  by  Confucius  to  be 
unchangeable  when  he  says,  'The  progress  .  of 
the  Superior  man  is  upward,  that  of  the  Inferior 
man  is  downward.'  " 
Big  Ttings  in  This  is  merely  a  glimpse  of  the  literature  of 
Literature.  the  Chinese  on  two  great  subjects:  poetry,  and 
this  one  phase  of  philosophy.  They  have  one 
history  of  China,  which  has  been  fitly  termed  "a 
stack  of  histories,  "  in  3,264  volumes.  One  med- 
ical work  contains  168  books,  1,960  discourses, 
on  2,175  different  subjects,  with  778  rules,  231 
diagrams  and  21,739  prescriptions.  They  have 
one  encyclopedia  of  the  best  literature  which  con- 
tains 22,937  books.  The  Emperor  K'ang  Hsi, 
the  first  great  Manchu,  wrote  176  books,  besides 
governing  China  60  years;  while  his  grandson 
Ch'ien  Lung,  who  gave  up  the  throne  after  having 
ruled  60  years,  so  as  not  to  outdo  his  grandfather, 
had  written  no  less  than  33,950  poetical  composi- 
tions, published  in  382  books,  all  completed  13 
years  before  the  end  of  his  reign,  while  the  works 
of  these  last  years  have  never  gone  through  the 
press.  They  have  one  biographical  encyclopedia 
of  1,628  volumes,  376  of  which  are  devoted  to 
famous  women,  more  than  one  fifth  of  the  whole, 
while  in  their  biographical  dictionary  of  artists 
of  24  volumes,  four  are  devoted  to  the  lives  of 
great  women,  one  sixth  of  the  whole. 

In  the  conversation  with  which  I  began  this 
chapter,  my  Chinese  friend  said  that  they  love 
literature,  w'hich  I  think  I  have  shown  to  be  true. 


THE   PRINTED   PAGE  231 

He  said  also  that  the  best  way  to  bring  any  sub- 
ject to  the  attention  of  the  Chinese  was  by  the 
printed  page,  and  I  asked  him  what  evidence  he 
had  for  the  truth  of  such  a  statement. 

''Study  the    introduction  and   growth  of  Bud-   Buddhism 
dhism, "  he  replied,      "It   is  a  system  which   has   Established  by 
but  little   to  recommend   it  over  against   Taoism  Literature, 
and    Confucianism,   except   that   during   China's 
dark  ages,  it  deluged   China   with   a   literature, 
most  of  which,  it   is  true,  was   in  translation  of 
books  brought   from  India,  some   of  which   were 
good,  but  most  of  them    indifferent,  and   these  at 
a  time  when  the  making  of  books  was  anything 
but  an  easy  task. 

"Buddhism  was  introduced  in  65  A.  D.     By  the   Making 
year  400  the  Emperor  was  such  an  ardent  disciple  Buddhist 
of  the  Buddhist  faith  as  to  call  a  council  of  600  Books, 
priests  to   assist   in   the   translation  of  books,  at 
which   he  was  himself  present,  while  two  of  the 
princes    helped     to   transcribe   the   work   of    the 
tranlators.      In   A.    D.     451,  a   Buddhist  temple 
was  allowed  in  every  city,  with   40  or  50  priests, 
and   the   Emperor   himself   shaved   the   heads  «f 
some  of    those  who   took  the   vows.      In   A.    D. 
467,  the   Prince  of  Wei  constructed  an  image  of 
Buddha   fifty   feet   high,  in   which   he   used   five 
tons  of     brass   and   six    hundredweight  of   gold, 
and  five  years  thereafter  he  resigned   his  throne 
and  became  a  Buddhist  monk." 

"But  what  has  that  to  do   with  literature.?"   I 
asked. 


232  CHINA'S  NEW  DAT 

New  Books.  "Let  me  finish,"  he  answered,  and   continued, 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century  there  were 
not  less  than  3,000  Hindus  in  China,  while  the 
temples  had  multiplied  to  13,000,  and  the  prince 
himself  discoursed  publicly  on  the  Sacred  Books. 
The  first  Emperor  of  the  Liang  dynasty  three 
times  assumed  Buddhist  vows,  expounded  the 
sutras  to  his  courtiers,  and  finally  gave  up  the 
throne  and  entered  a  monastery  at  Nanking.  By 
730  A.  D,,  we  are  told  that  2,278  different  works 
had  been  translated  by  not  less  than  176  different 
translators.  Such  was  the  growth  of  Buddhism, 
due  for  the  most  part  to  the  influence  exerted  by 
the  importation  into  China  of  such  a  vast  amount 
of  new  thought  and  literature. 
TangPoetry  "Nor  was  this  all,"  he  went  on.      "It   is  sup- 

Result  of  posed  that  the  period  of  the  Tang  poetry   is  due 

Buddhist  J.Q  j-j^e  literary   impetus  given  by  the  making  of 

tonic  dictionaries,  the  discovery  of  the  four  tones, 
and  other  study  of  the  language  done  by  the  Bud- 
dhists in  making  these  translations.  The  thought 
which  I  wish  to  impress  upon  you,"  he  contin- 
ued looking  me  right  in  the  eye,  "is  this,  that 
the  establishment  of  Buddhism  is  due  largely  to 
the  fact  that  it  prepared  for  itself  a  vast  amount 
of  literature.  In  doing  so  it  enriched  China, 
not  only  by  what  it  imported,  and  the  develop- 
ment it  brought  about,  but  also  by  the  impetus  it 
gave  to  the  Chinese  in  the  revival  of  learning." 

"It  seems  to  me   that   what   you   say    is   worth 
consideration,"  I  remarked. 


Study. 


THE   PRINTED    PAGE  233 

"If  it  stood  alone,  pcrliaps  it  might  not  be,"  Catholicism 
he  answered,  "but  it  does  not  stand  alone.  What  Established  by 
I  have  said  of  Buddhism  is  true  also  of  Catholi-  Literature, 
cism.  This  as  you  know  was  first  introduced 
into  China  by  John  de  Mento  in  A.  D.  1293,  but 
was  exterminated  by  the  Ming  dynasty  a  century 
later,  and  it  was  not  reintroduced  until  it  was 
brought  by  Mathew  Ricci  in  A.  D.  1589,  about 
three  hundred  and  twenty  years  ago.  Father  Ricci 
arrived  in  Peking  January  4,  1601,  and  by  the 
year  1636  he  and  his  associate  workers,  together 
with  their  Chinese  converts,  had  published  no 
less  than  340  volumes,  some  of  them  religious, 
but  most  of  them  on  natural  philosophy  and 
mathematics.  This  book  making  was  kept  up  by 
Longobardi,  Schall,  Verbiest,  and  their  associates 
and  successors,  the  last  two  being  the  most  inti- 
mate advisers  of  the  last  emperors  of  the  Ming 
and  the  first  emperors  of  the  present  dynasty.  It 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  astroriomy  and 
mathematics  of  the  Chinese  were  changed  so 
materially  as  never  to  allow  them  to  go  back  to 
their  old  theories,  and  because  of  this  literary 
assistance,  more  perhaps  than  anything  else, 
Catholicism  was  established  throughout  the  em- 
pire. During  the  first  fiftee©  years  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  in  the  governor-generalship  of 
Kiangnan  and  Kiangsi  alone,  there  were  100 
churches,  and  a  hundred  thousand  converts. 
The  survey  of  the  empire  was  carried  on  by  the 
Emperor's   command   from   1708   to   1718   under 


234  CHINA' S  NE  W  DA  T 

the  direction  of  the  Jesuits,  of  whom  Regis, 
Bovet,  and  Jartoux  were  the  most  prominent 
members. ' ' 

I  was  not  a  little  surprised  at  the  readiness 
with  which  my  friend  quoted  all  these  names  and 
dates,  but  I  said  nothing  and  he  continued.' 

"When  the  missionaries  were  expelled  under 
Yung  Cheng,  it  is  said  that  three  hundred  thou- 
sand converts  were  deprived  of  teachers,  and  after 
the  numbers  had  been  reduced  by  persecution,  the 
priests  are  accused  by  one  of  their  own  number 
of  conducting  themselves  with  such  ostentation  as 
to  be  unable  to  reach  the  masses.  The  accusation 
made  by  Father  Ripa  is  as  follows: — 
jonversions  "  'The   diffusion  of   our   holy  religion  in  these 

the  Result  of  parts  has  been  almost  wholly  owing  to  the  cate- 
chists  who  are  in  the  service,  to  other  Christians, 
or  to  the  distribution  of  Christian  books  in  the 
Chinese  language.'  In  1861  we  are  told  that 
they  had  31  bishops,  664  European  priests, 
559  native  priests,  1,092,818  converts,  34  colleges 
and  34  convents.  Allowing  for  a  large  overesti- 
mate, or  for  many  adherents  who  were  weak  dis- 
ciples, they  have  still  a  goodly  company  for  300 
years'  work.  The  Catholics  in  China  are  doing 
no  small  amount  of  bookmaking,  and  what  they 
do  they  do  well,  putting  up  their  volumes  in  a 
form  and  style  that  would  do  credit  to  any  press. 
An  examination  of  the  catalogue  of  the  Pel  Tang 
press  in  Peking  will  indicate  the  character  of  the 
work  they  do." 


Books 


777^    PRINTED    PAGE  235 

"May  I  ask  if  you  belong  to  the  Catholic 
Church?"  I  inquired,  for  I  began  to  have  a  sus- 
picion that  he  was  praising  his  own  creed. 

*'I  belong  to  no  church,"  he  answered;  "I 
simply  try  to  see  things  as  they  are.  The  Roman 
Catholics  and  Buddhists  began  in  the  right  way 
to  make  a  success  of  the  introduction  of  their 
systems  into  China,  and  had  the  former  not  been 
ambitious  for  temporal  power  when  they  beheld 
their  efforts  more  or  less  crowned  with  success, 
Catholicism  would  have  been  far  more  wide- 
spread than  it  is  to-day." 

"You  think  then,  that  literature  is  an  important 
adjunct  in  the  introduction  of  religion  into 
China,"  I  remarked. 

"Contrast  with   these   two  systems   the  attempt   Nestorians 
at  the  introduction  of   Christianity  into  China  by   Fail  from 

the  Nestorians  in  A.  D.  505.      During  the  period   Lack  of     . 

B    k 

when   Buddhism  was    making  such   monumental      °°  *' 

efforts  in  the  production  of  literature  and  taking 
such  rapid  strides,  the  Nestorians  brought  Chris- 
tianity to  China,  but  so  far  as  we  know  at  present 
they  have  left  no  record  of  their  presence  other 
than  the  self-eulogistic  tablet  at  Sianfu,  a  replica 
of  which  may  be  found  in  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  in  New  York.  To  blot  out  Catholicism 
and  Buddhism  from  China,  one  would  have  to 
destroy  a  large  part  of  her  best  literature  and 
learning.  For  while  Buddhism  cannot  claim  a 
single  book  that  ranks  with  the  sacred  books  of 
Confucianism    and    Taoism,    she   has    insinuated 


286  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

herself  into  all  the  ramifications  of  Chinese  liter- 
ature and  life.  And,  indeed,  this  Nestorian  tab- 
let contains  a  very  complimentary  reference  to 
Buddhism,  in  the  description  of  how  the  priest 
I  Ssu  clothed  the  naked,  fed  the  poor,  atjtended 
on  and  healed  the  sick,  and  buried  the  dead.  If 
he  were  a  Buddhist  priest  it  is  a  complimentary 
reference,  and,  if  not,  the  mention  of  Buddhism 
in  this  connection  is  still  an  indication  that 
Buddhists  were  beyond  all  others  in  such  benevo- 
lent work. 

"To  destroy  Catholicism  would  throw  Chinese 
astronomy  and  mathematics  back  where  they  were 
a  thousand  years  ago.  But  Nestorianism  has 
passed  away,  leaving  nothing  but  the  epitaph  on 
a  single  tombstone  to  tell  of  its  existence.  The 
inscription  says  that  'the  Scriptures  weretranslated 
and  churches  built;'  and  this  was  done  'when  the 
pure,  bright,  illustrious  religion  was  introduced 
to  our  T'ang  dynasty.'  But  if  the  Scriptures 
were  translated,  and  if  other  books  for  the  in- 
struction of  the  people  were  written,  they  have 
either  all  passed  away  or  lie  buried  among  the 
uninvestigated  debris  of  Chinese  literature." 

I  did  not  know  whether  to  agree  with  him  or  not, 

but  he  was  giving  me  a  lot  of  things  to  think  about, 

and  I  allowed  him  to  proceed  without  interruption. 

Mohammed  "We  are  not  confined,  however,"  he  went  on. 

Failed  from       "to  the   tablet   for  the   proof  that   Nestorianism 

Lack  of  ^jjg  both  widespread  and    influential.      This   fact 

is  testified   to  by  such  early  travelers  as  Sir  John 

Mandeville     and    Marco    Polo,    of    the    general 


Books 


THE  PRINTED  PAGE  237 

truth  of  whose  statements  there  is  at  present  little 
reason  for  doubt.  In  addition  to  these  we  have 
various  other  proofs,  chief  among  which  is  the 
general  belief  in  the  Christian  Prince,  Prester 
John,  and  his  dominions,  and  in  the  record  of 
Friar  Odoric  of  Pardenone,  the  story  of  whose 
travels  in  Western  India  and  Northern  China 
agrees  in  the  main  with  the  record  of  Sir  John 
Mandeville.  But,  as  we  have  said,  although  the 
Nestorians  were  numerous  during  the  Yuan 
dynasty,  at  the  present  time  with  the  exception  of 
the  stone  tablet,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  not  a  trace 
of  them  is  left.  vSuch  could  not  have  been  the 
case  if  they  had  been  as  diligent  as  the  Buddhists 
in  the  preparation  of  a  good  literature." 

"I  cannot  but   allow  that   there  is  a  good   deal     Islam, 
of  truth  in  what  you  are  saying,"  I  admitted. 

''What  I  have  said  of  the  Nestorians,"  he  con- 
tinued, "may  be  said  with  equal  emphasis  of  the 
Mohammedans.  Very  little  is  known  by  the 
common  people  about  them  and  their  creed. 
They  are  exceedingly  uncommunicative  on  sub- 
jects relating  to  themselves.  When  their  system 
was  introduced  into  China,  and  how,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  say.  It  is  usually  attributed  to  Wokassm, 
a  maternal  uncle  of  the  Prophet,  during  the 
seventh  century.  As  early  as  the  T'ang  dynasty 
the  Mohammedan  missionaries  came  to  Canton 
and  Hangchow. 

"It  was  not  introduced,  however,  merely  at  one   Brought  in  at 
place.      It  was   carried  by   sea   to   the   southern   Many  Places. 


238  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

cities,  and  by  caravans  of  traders  from  Central 
Asia  to  the  northwest,  west  and  southwest 
provinces.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  Moham- 
medans have  been  in  China  for  not  less  than 
•  twelve  or  thirteen  centuries.  In  all  the  border 
provinces  they  are  numerous.  Their  customs  in 
regard  to  pork,  wine  and  idols  are  very  strict. 
They  have  a  school  in  connection  with  almost  all 
of  the  large  temples  for  the  study  of  the  Koran  in 
the  native  Arabic.  But  they  seem  not  to  have 
learned  the  influence  of  literature  upon  the  minds 
of  the  people,  and  its  disintegrating  power  on 
Chinese  life;  and  so  they  are  practically  without 
books  for  the  instruction  of  the  masses,  and 
Poor  in  Liter-  without  a  distinct  literature  as  a  representative  of 
ature.  the    sect.       Consequently    they     have   made    less 

progress  as  an  integral  factor  in  Chinese  religious 
life  in  thirteen  centuries  than  Buddhism  did  in 
five.  It  is  not  improbable  that  when  the  Nes- 
torians  were  cut  off  from  the  mother  church  by 
the  rise  of  the  Moslems  and  the  conquests  of  the 
IMongols  they  gradually  amalgamated  themselves 
with  the  Mohammedans,  as  they  had  long  since 
ceased  to  maintain  the  purity  of  their  faith,  as 
well  as  to  circulate  the  Scriptures,  which  we  are 
told  had  been  translated  into  Chinese.  Certain 
it  is  that  the  two  sects  which  prepared  an  abun- 
dant literature  succeeded  in  establishing  them- 
selves in  China,  and  the  two  which  did  not,  have 
failed  to  get  a  hold  upon  the  hearts  of  the 
people." 


THE   PRINTED   PAGE  239 

"And  what  do  you  think  of  our  Protestant 
methods?"  I  inquired. 

**Wise, "  he  answered,  "the  wisest  that  could 
possibly  be  adopted." 

"In  what  way?   may  I  ask." 

"In  the  opening  of  schools  and  hospitals  as 
well  as  churches,  and  the  making  of  books,"  he 
replied. 

"Will  you  explain  what  you  mean  by  the 
making  of  books?"  I  requested. 

"Protestantism,"    he     replied,    "began     with   Protestants 
literature.       It    would    seem    almost    as    if    some   Began  witt 
mysterious  power  was   directing   the   pioneers   of      °°  ^' 
Protestant  missions   in  this   particular  direction. 
First,  they  were  shut  out   from  preaching  to   the 
people,  and    their    efforts   were   directed   toward 
the  making  of  dictionaries  and  other  books  which 
would  assist  them  in  the  translation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  to  the  compilation  of  books  which  would 
help  the  people  to  understand  the  Bible,  and  give 
the  people  some   idea  of   the   world   as    it   exists 
outside  of  the  Middle  Kingdom.      This,  however, 
is  only  one  form  that  literature  took  with  Protes- 
tant  missions    in  those  early  days.      Their  Bible 
translation  was  one  advantage  they  had  over  the  Translated 
Romish  Church  which   withholds  the  Scriptures  tke  Bible, 
from  the   common   people.      The  various  Bible 
societies  are  among  the   pioneers    in   taking  up 
this  work.     Nevertheless  those  who  are  engaged 
by  the  Bible  societies  did  not  confine  themselves 
to  this  line  alone.      But   with  all   deference  to  all 


240  CNIN^VS  NEW  DAT 

other  literature,  the  Bible  is  the  great  civilizer. 
I  know,  as  you  do,  that  wherever  the  Bible  has 
gone,  progress  has  gone  with  it.  I  realize  that 
the  governments  that  are  wielding  the  power  of 
the  world  to-day,  are  the  lands  with  the  Bible. 
I  understand  too,  that  there  never  has  been  a 
system  of  thought  organized  into  a  science  outside 
of  a  land  with  a  Bible.  I  know  that  the  wealth 
of  the  world  is  in  the  hands  of  the  people  who 
have  the  Bible.  I  realize  that  the  music  of  the 
world  has  been  inspired  by  the  gospel,  and  exe- 
cuted for  its  praise,  while  the  progress  in  the 
manufacture  of  musical  instruments  is  the  result 
of  the  demand  on  the  part  of  the  cathedrals  and 
churches.  I  understand  that  the  best  art  of  the 
world — the  progress  and  development  of  art — is 
the  result  of  the  inspiration  of  the  gospel,  and  it 
has  been  executed  by  the  man  with  a  cross  about 
his  neck  and  a  Bible  in  his  robe.  Only  the  man 
with  a  microscopic  vision  can  spend  his  time 
picking  to  pieces  the  Book  which  has  led  in  the 
progress  of  the  world's  civilization.  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  light  of  the  world  in  every  sense  in  which 
that  sentence  can  be  interpreted,  for  every  oil  lamp, 
gas  light,  electric,  acetylene,  oxyhydric  or  any 
other  light,  except  a  tallow  candle  or  a  dish  of  oil 
with  a  wick  floating  therein,  has  been  made  in  a 
land  with  a  Bible.  The  light,  the  progress  and 
the  comfort  of  the  world  is  the  result  of  the  Bible, 
and  so  it  was  wise  that  Protestantism  began  by 
translating  and  circulating  the  Scriptures." 


THE   PRINTED    PAGE  241 

"You  have  a  high  appreciation  of  the  Bible," 
I  suggested. 

"Nobody   that  has   lived    in  a    land   without  a   Influence  of 
Bible,  and  has  studied  the  history  of  the  progress   tl>e  Bible, 
of  thought,  of  invention,  of  clean  cities,  of   com- 
fortable  homes,   methods   of  travel,    labor-saving 
devices,  can  avoid  having  a  high  appreciation  of 
the  Bible,"  he  answered. 

"But,  you  know,  there  are  some  people  in  my 
country  who  do  not  give  the  Bible  credit  for  that 
progress,"  I  volunteered. 

"Those  are  the  people  who  have  either  never 
lived  outside  of  a  Christian  country,  or  who  make 
no  distinction  between  intellectual  and  religious 
thinking,  or  whose  lives  do  not  harmonize  with 
the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures,"  he  replied. 

"No,"  I  answered,  "they  think  the  white  man 
has  done  it. " 

"Then  why  did  not  the  white  man  do  it  before   Chinese 
he   got   the   Bible?"   he   asked.      "My    ancestors   Ahead  of  Us 
were  a  thousand  years  ahead  of  yours,  before  you   ■'""'■^  ^^ 
got  the  Bible.     We  were  clothed   in  silk,  living 
in   brick   -houses,     with    a    great    government,    a 
great    literature    and    a   great   civilization,  when 
your  ancestors  were  clothed  in  skins  and  living  in 
caves,  mud  huts,   or  nesting  in  the  trees.      The 
only  way  you   can   explain  your  progress,  is  by 
admitting    that  your    Bible    made   your   church, 
your  church    sent   her   priests    and   missionaries, 
they    established    your   colleges    and    made   your 
books,  and  3'our  civilization  is  the  result." 


242  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

So  much  for  the  views  of  my  Chinese  friend. 
They  certainly  are  worthy  of  careful  thought  and 
point  the  way  to  one  of  the  greatest  lines  of  in- 
fluence open  to  the  Christian  Church.  The  in- 
nate reverence  for  theprintedpage  on  the  part  of  the 
Chinese  people  is  unequalled  by  that  of  any  other 
nation.  Even  a  scrap  of  paper  fluttering  in  the 
street  is  carefully  rescued  if  it  contains  printed 
characters.  The  Protestant  missionaries  have  not 
been  slow  to  take  advantage  of  this  trait. 
Protestant  It  was  not  long  after  mission  work  was  begun 

Translations,  by  the  Protcstants  before  they  began  the  translation 
of  such  books  as  the  "Pilgrim's  Progress,"  and 
the  preparation  of  "Evidences  of  Christianity," 
"Bible  Stories,"  and  various  small  books,  stories 
and  tracts  which  the  conditions  and  circumstances 
of  their  teaching,  preaching  or  medical  work  de- 
manded, and  so  tract  societies  were  formed  in 
various  parts  of  the  empire.  It  would  be  a  diffi- 
cult matter  to  try  to  say  how  many  editions  "Pil- 
grim's Progress"  and  "Evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity" have  gone  through,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
number  of  volumes  that  have  been  printed. 
Christian  An  amusing  story  is  told  about  the  "Evidences 

Evidences.  ^f  Christianity,"  prepared  by  Dr.  Martin.  A 
copy  of  it  and  one  of  the  Gospel  of  Luke  was 
given  to  an  official  at  the  same  time  by  a  mis- 
sionary. Some  time  thereafter  he  met  the  official 
and  during  the  conversation  asked,  "How  did 
Your  Excellency  enjoy  the  books?" 


THE    PRINTED    PAGE  243 

*'  'The  Evidences  of  Christianity,'  "  he  re- 
plied, ''I  enjoyed  very  much.  It  is  logically 
written  from  beginning  to  the  end." 

''And  how  did  you  enjoy  the  'Good  News  of 
Luke'?"  he  inquired  further. 

"Well,  to  be  frank,"  he  answered,  "I  do  not 
think  Luke  sticks  to  the  subject." 

Li  addition  to  the  tract  societies  there  was  es-  Tract  and 
tablished  a  number  of  years  ago  a  "Society  for  Other  Socie- 
the    Diffusion   of    Knowledge,"    the    design    of  *^"- 
which  was   to  publish  and   sell   to  the   Chinese  a 
large  number  of  books   that   may  or  may  not  be 
distinctively   Christian  or  religious.      Books   like 
McKcnzie's     "Nineteenth      Century,"     Edward 
Bellamy's    "Looking    Backward,"   religious  or 
semi-religious  stories,  books  that  may  be  used  as 
study  books,,  or  for  collateral   reading  in  schools, 
or  for  the  scholars   in   the  old   regime   to  use  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  elements  of  Western 
learning,  have  been  published  by  this  society. 

When  the  Emperor  Kuang  Hsii  turned  his  at-   Demand  for 
tention    to    foreign    learning    and   began   buying  Books  of  So- 
their  books,  such   a   demand   arose  for  their  pub-   "  .     °^ 

fusion  or 

lications  throughout  the  empire,  that  although  ciiristian 
they  kept  their  presses  going  night  and  day,  they  Knowledge, 
were  unable  to  produce  books  fast  enough  to  sat- 
isfy the  public  appetite.  It  was  at  this  time  that 
Chang  Chih-tung  in  "China's  Only  Hope,"  ad- 
vised that  Chinese  members  of  legations  in 
foreign  countries  should  study  the  languages  of 
the  people  to  which   they   are  sent   and  translate 


244  CHINA'S  NE  iV  DAT 

the  best  works  of  those  countries  into  Chinese. 
He  commended  very  highly  the  work  done  in  this 
line  by  such  missionaries  as  Drs.  Young  J. 
Allen,  Timothy  Richard,  and  others  who  were 
devoting  their  time  to  the  preparation  of  books, 
and  he  advised  that  large  editions  of  these  books 
be  printed  and  scattered  broadcast  throughout  the 
empire. 

About  this  time  there  was  a  good  deal  of 
pirating  of  foreign  books  by  the  native  printers 
of  Shanghai.  Many  of  the  best  books  had 
scarcely  left  the  press,  before  a  pirated  edition 
by  the  photographic  process,  was  reproduced  by 
the  native  shops  in  the  city.  Legge's  "Four 
Books,"  which  regularly  cost  eight  or  nine 
dollars,  could  be  bought  in  a  pirated  edition  for 
$1.75,  and  even  Williams'  dictionary  of  the 
Chinese  language  was  put  upon  the  market  at  a 
phenomenally  low  price. 
Need  of  Lit-  ^  ^^'P  ^^^  following   from   the  "New  York   In- 

erary  Men.  dependent."  It  is  in  regard  to  a  call  from 
Dr.  Timothy  Richard,  the  head  of  the  Society  for 
the  Diffusion  of  Knowledge  among  the  Chinese: — 
"No  missionary  in  China  has  a  higher  repu- 
tation for  wisdom  than  Timothy  Richard,  and  it 
is  worthy  of  note  that  he  calls  for  one  hundred 
missionaries  who  shall  devote  themselves  entirely 
to  literary  work.  The  purpose  is  to  reach  the 
higher  class  of  the  Chinese,  the  scholars  and 
leaders.  In  this  he  agrees  with  the  Rev.  Gilbert 
Reid,  who  has  made    himself  a  missionary  to  the 


THE   PRINTED   PAGE  245 

literati  and  officials,  believing  that  through  them 
the  people  as  a  whole  are  to  be  reached. 

"While  pi-ejudice  against  the  missionary  has 
been  removed  there  is  as  yet  no  great  move- 
ment among  the  leaders  of  China  to  accept  the 
Christian  faith.  The  missionary  labors  have  not 
been  directed  to  them  very  much.  The  literature 
has  been  chiefly  meant  for  the  instruction  of  con- 
verts in  schools  and  churches.  Mr.  Richard  and 
other  thoughtful  missionaries  believe  that  a  chief 
reason  for  the  failure  of  Christianity  to  attract  the 
leading  classes  in  China  is  because  it~inas  not 
been  presented  to  them  in  the  right  w^ay.  Mr. 
Richard  says: — 

"  'They  think  that  there  is  one  great  lack  in  our 
mission  methods  now,  viz.,  men  who  have  first 
studied  the  religion  and  literature  of  China  and 
know  what  its  strength  and  weakness  are  on  the 
one  hand,  and  who  also  on  the  other  hand  have 
so  studied  the  deep  philosophical  and  historical 
fruits  of  Christianity  in  other  lands,  that  they 
can  clearly  point  out  where  Christianity  excels 
the  best  the  Chinese  have  in  Confucianism  or 
Buddhism.  Moreover,  Christians  have  not  come 
to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill.  Mere  assertion  will  not 
convince.  The  superior  ideals  will  have  to  be 
made  clear  and  definite,  so  as  to  win  the  admira- 
tion of  the  best.' 

"Mr.  Richard  is  one  of  a  number  of  thought- 
ful missionaries  who  believed  that  if  a  hundred 
men  were   to   devote  themselves   to   this   kind   of 


246  CHINAS  NEW  DAT 

work  they  might  succeed  in  a  comparatively 
short  time  in  attracting  large  numbers  of  the 
leaders  in  the  Chinese  Empire  to  accept  Chris- 
tianity, in  which  case  the  masses  would  follow. 
Buddhism  won  its  way  through  its  high  litera- 
ture. It  would  be  well  if  every  mission  should 
set  aside  one  or  two  of  its  best  literary  men  for 
this  task." 
Appetite  for  You  will  observe  that  it  is  taken  for  granted  by 

Literature.  all  who  write  on  China  that  the  Chinese  have  a 
tremendous  appetite  for  literature.  We  have 
seen  how  certain  systems  have  been  established 
through  the  influence  of  literature  while  others 
which  produced  no  literature  have  failed.  We 
have  seen  what  the  tract  societies  are  doing,  and 
though  they  are  working  for  the  most  part  among 
the  lower  classes,  we  should  remember  that  the 
lower  classes  of  to-day  may  be  the  middle  classes 
of  to-morrow,  and  the  upper  classes  of  the  near 
future.  Missionary  societies  do  a  wise  thing 
when  they  transfer  those  missionaries  who  have 
literary  ability  to  this  particular  work,  relieving 
them  of  all  other  duties  that  will  interfere  with 
their  best  literary  output.  I  venture  to  say  that 
missionaries  all  over  China  have  found  that  persons 
come  and  apply  for  membership  in  the  church 
who  were  first  led  to  take  this  step  by  the  reading 
of  such  books  as  "Evidences  of  Christianity,"  or 
others  of  a  like  nature.  All  those  who  have  the 
ability  to  make  such  books  should  write  as  many 
of  them  as  possible. 


THE   PRINTED   PAGE  247 

In  adition  to   the  books    issued   by   the  various   Many  ScKol- 
societies,  there   are   many  scholars  who  publish   ars  Publish 
their  own  works.      There  is  an   Educational  As-  Their  Owr 
sociation    which     publishes    a    large    ninnber   of 
scientific  and  other  works.     There  are  institutions 
of  learning  which  issue  publications  prepared  by 
their  own  teachers,  and  there   is  scarcely  one  of 
the  larger  missions  which   does   not   issue  books 
either   from   their    own   or   other  presses,  all    of 
which  help  to  swell  the  ranks  of  what  might  be 
termed  a  Protestant  Christian  literature. 

Prior  to  the  Boxer  movement  there  were  but  Newspapers, 
few  newspapers  in  China.  Now  there  are  more 
than  two  hundred  newspapers,  with  a  rapidly  in- 
creasing circulation.  Formerly  the  official  classes 
paid  little  attention  to  this  class  of  literature,  but 
with  the  beginning  of  Kuang  Hsii's  reforms  the 
paper  edited  by  Dr.  Allen  began  exerting  a  tre- 
mendous influence.  Many  of  the  leading  journals 
have  been  bought  by  men  connected  with  provin- 
cial governments,  and  their  future  utterances  will 
be  more  carefully  guarded  no  doubt  than 
formerly. 

One  of  the  recent  developments  is  the  upspring-   Chinese  Pub- 
ing  of  printing  offices  all    over  the  empire.      One   "shmg  Com- 
of  the  most  noted   of  these  is  "The   Commercial   P***^" 
Press,  Limited,"  of  Shanghai.      This  Press  was 
started   twelve   years    ago  by  Christian  Chinese, 
who   had   learned   the  trade  while   employed  by 
the  Presbyterian  Mission  Press.     After  a  time, 
these    young    and    ambitious    Chinese    naturally 


248  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

wanted  to  go  into  business  for  themselves.  They 
therefore  opened  a  small  job  printing  shop  near 
by.  By  skill  and  diligence,  their  business  soon 
increased.  When  the  new  government  system  of 
education  was  adopted  and  foreign  text-books 
were  called  for,  the  managers  were  enterprising 
enough  to  foresee  the  opportunity.  They  en- 
larged their  plant  and  began  to  turn  out  the 
desired  books.  To-day,  this  Press  is  the  largest 
in  all  Asia,  employing  over  one  thousand  hands, 
all  of  them  Chinese  except  about  a  dozen  Japanese. 
It  is  equipped  with  the  latest  and  best  German, 
English  and  American  machinery.  It  has  a  cap- 
ital of  $1,000,000,  one  third  of  which  is  held  by 
Japanese  and  two  thirds  by  Chinese.  It  uses  rot 
only  Chinese  paper,  but  stock  imported  from 
Austria,  Sweden,  England  and  Japan,  chiefly 
from  Austria  and  Sweden.  It  has  opened  twenty 
branch  presses  in  various  cities  of  China.  It  is 
managed  on  the  co-operative  plan,  sharing  profits 
with  its  employees.  The  net  profits  are  divided 
into  twenty  parts.  Five  of  these  are  distributed 
among  the  employees,  ten  go  to  the  shareholders, 
three  to  the  reserve  fund,  and  two  to  the  schools 
of  children  of  employees,  to  sick  and  injured  em- 
ployees and  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those  who 
have  died.  The  net  profits  distributed  in  these 
ways  last  year  were  $200,000  Mex.  It  is  grati- 
fying to  know,  not  only  that  the  managers  of  this 
great  institution  are  Christian  men,  but  that  of  the 
three   founders  and  present  managers,  one  is  the 


777^    PRINTED    PAGE  249 

son-in-law  and  the  other  two  are  sons  of  the  first  pu- 
pil of  the  Presbyterian  boarding  school  at  Ningpo. 
The  head  of  every  important  depaitment,  except 
one,  is  a  Christian,  and  sixty  per  cent  of  the  men 
who  are  in  responsible  positions  are  Christians. 
This  Press  now  issues  most  of  the  text-books 
used  in  tlie  government  schools  and  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  bank  notes  which  are  in  circulation. 

The  variety  of  the  literary  work  that  has  to  be   Reformed 
done  in  China  may  be  gathered   from  the  follow-   Church, 
ing  from   the  Reformed   Church    in   America  as 
taken  from   their  report  of   their  Amoy  Mission. 
Varieties  of  books   have   to   be  made  for  the  col- 
loquial dialects. 

"The  work  of  Dr.  Talmage  in  preparing  his 
dictionary  has  been  described  in  another  con- 
nection above.  The  other  members  of  the  mis- 
sion had  a  prominent  share  in  the  preparation  of 
the  Bible  in  the  Amoy  Romanized  Colloquial, 
and  in  1905  the  preparation  of  an  edition  of  the 
New  Testament  with  references  was  done  almost 
entirely  by  the  members  of  our  own  mission. 
A  number  of  text-books,  both  in  Chinese  char- 
acter and  Amoy  Romanized,  have  been  pre- 
pared by  our  missionaries.  The  number  of 
books  in  the  Romanized  Colloquial  is  now 
more  than  fifty  volumes,  and  more  than  half  of 
these  were  translated  or  written  by  our  own 
workers.  Much  more  of  this  work  vj^ould  have 
been  done  had  not  the  pressure  of  other  work 
prevented. ' ' 


250  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

Mission  The  most  important  mission  press   in  China  is 

Presses.  that  of  the  Presbyterians  at  Shanghai  which  turns 

out  millions  of  pages  annually.  The  Baptist 
Publication  Society  circulates  its  literature  n  the 
fields  of  all  the  Baptist  missions  in  China  and 
sends  books  also  to  the  Chinese  scattered  iU'many 
countries.  One  tract  written  by  a  Chinese  pastor 
is  definitely  known  to  have  been  the  means  of  the 
conversion  of  several  hundred  persons.  It  is  en- 
titled*  "The  Truth  Manifested."  The  Metho- 
dists also  have  a  mission  press  at  Shanghai.  No 
church  in  China  is  doing  more  to  furnish  whole- 
some literature  for  the  people  than  the  China 
Inland  Mission.  The  Methodist  Church  of  Can- 
ada is  opening  likewise  a  large  work  in  the  great 
Province  of  Szechuan. 
Schoolbooks.  One  of  the  greatest  works  in  the  line  of  litera- 

ture that  is  now  in  progress  is  the  production  of 
schoolbooks.  The  old  primers  mentioned  in  the 
beginning  of  this  chapter  have  served  their  day 
and  are  now  put  aside  forever.  The  Commercial 
Press  in  Shanghai  has  young  Chinese  scholars, 
educated  in  Christian  schools,  familiar  with  the 
various  series  of  schoolbooks  used  in  America, 
preparing  similar  series  for  use  in  the  native 
schools.  Primers,  with  conversations  and  illus- 
Modern  trations,  like   the  modern  primers  now   issued   in 

Methods.  such  an  attractive  variety  by  our  great  publishing 

houses,  together  with  graded  readers  up  to  the 
sixth  or  higher,  prepared  on  the  same  scientific 
plan  as  our  own.      The  children   study  now  just 


THE   PRINTED   PAGE  251 

as  our  children  do,  understanding  the  meaning 
and  significance  of  each  character  when  they  learn 
it,  and  not  having  to  wait  until  they  have  com- 
mitted the  whole  book  before  they  are  taught 
what  it  means.  This  is  one  of  the  triumphs  of 
mission  work  in  China, — the  liberation  of  a 
hundred  million  oi  more  of  children  from  the 
shackles  of  the  old  regime,  and  the  teaching  of 
modern  methods, — liberating  the  memory  and 
developing  the  reason.  Time  would  fail  to  tell 
what  has  been  done.  Would  that  the  American 
people  might  realize  that  now  is  the  time  to  in- 
duce China  to  catch  step  with  Europe.  Why 
cannot  we  show  her  that  what  made  us  will  make 
her — the  gospel  of  the  Master? 

Some  one  has  said    that   the   translation  of   the   Work  of 
Bible    into  a    language    is   like   the  running  of  a   British  Bible 
railway  through  undeveloped  country.      The  first   ^""^^y- 
Bible  society  to  enter  China  was   the   British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society.      In  1810   it  published  a 
Chinese  translation  of  Acts  by  Morrison.      Since 
then  it  has  translated  many  versions  in  Mandarin, 
and  in  Wen-li  in  thirteen  local  dialects.     The  in- 
crease   in    their    circulation   for  the  last   decade, 
5,200,908  copies,  was  more  than  the  entire  circu- 
lation of  the  first  eighty  years. 

In  1910  all  previous  records  were  broken  when 
in  one  half  day  72,000  books  left  the  depot. 
During  the  year  2,107  cases  of  Scriptures  weigh- 
ing 86J  tons  have  been  dispatched.  The  total 
of     Bibles,    Testaments    and    portions   sold    was 


252  CHINA'S  NEW  DAY 

1,508,220,  given  away  8,129.      The  amount  con- 
tributed   in  China  as  donations  in  support  of  the 
Society's  work  w'as  $5,503.80. 
American  The   American   Bible   Society    has   broken   all 

Bible  Society,   records   with    a   sale  of  849,276,   an   increase  of 
forty  per  cent  on  the  sales  of   1909.      If  to  this  is 
added  the  number  of  Chinese  Bibles,  Testaments 
and   portions    sold    by    them    not   directly   to   the 
Chinese  but  to  other  mission  agencies  we  have  a 
total   of  1,028,496,  a  gain   of   over   one   hundred 
per  cent. 
The  National        This   differs   from   the  other  great   societies    in 
Bible  Society     putting  out  illustrated  gospels  and  jDortions,  Con- 
or Scotland.         ,••  i-r  i  i.-  c  ^• 

taming  brief  explanations  or  some  puzzling  terms 

in  addition  to  the   Bible   text.      In   this   pioneer 

work  it  has  the  backing  of  the  missionaries.      It 

has   circulated  1,358,384  Bibles,    Testaments  or 

portions,  a  gain  of  243,322. 

China  a  Bible        The  Combined^  sales  of  these  three  great  agen- 

Buying  cies  put  China  among  the  foremost  Bible  buying 

Nation.  nations  of  the  earth.      The  vast  total  of  sales  from 

the  beginning  of  their  work  to  the  end  of  1909  is 

43,796,815  copies  or  portions  of  the  Bible. 

Pocket  Testa-        At  the  missionary  conference   in  Shanghai    in 

ment  League.     1907  a  Committee  was  appointed  to  promote  Bible 

study.      Following  the  phenomenal  success  of  the 

Pocket  Testament  League  in  Korea,  it  was  decided 

at  the  close  of  the  Chapman-Alexander  meetings 

in  1909  to  push  the  work  in  China.      The  Bible 

societies  published  the  Gospel  of  Mark  in  a  special 

edition  wnth   ornamental    cover.      This   was    sold 


THE   rniNTED   PAGE  253 

at   a   very   low    price.       Thirty    thousand   copies 
have  been  sold  for  this  purpose, 

ILLUSTRATIVE  QUOTATIONS 
"Three  times  has  God  in  his  providence  given  us  an 
opportunity  in  China  to  win  the  whole  empire,  but  each 
time  the  Christian  Church  has  failed  because  of  weak- 
ness in  the  literary  department.  First,  sixty  years  ago 
the  Taipings  had  more  than  a  hundred  million  followers 
but  had  no  adequate  literature  to  counteract  the  Old 
Testament  idea  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan  and  therefore 
failed. 

"The  second  failure  was  twelve  years  ago  when  re- 
formers, who  believed  in  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and 
the  brotherhood  of  nations,  though  they  had  over  a 
million  followers,  in  three  years,  failed  for  lack  of  ade- 
quate Christian  literature  acting  simultaneously  on  the 
whole  empire. 

"The  third  failure  was  last  year,  when  the  great 
founder  of  modern  education  in  China  asked  a  mission- 
ary to  provide  text-books  for  the  twenty  universities  of 
China,  but  this  opportunity  could  not  be  taken  advan- 
tage of  because  Christian  missions  had  not  a  sufficient 
number  of  literary  men  to  accomplish  the  task.  These 
are  among  the  great  tragedies  in  Christian  missions." 
(Rev.  Timothy  Richard,  D.D.,  at  Edinburgh  Confer- 
ence.) 

"Christianity  is  a  reading  religion.  Strong  and  val- 
iant books  are  in  demand  throughout  Christendom. 
The  mental  ongoing  which  is  so  characteristic  of  the 
Christian  peoples  is  through  their  conquering  so  many 
books  and  taking  to  themselves  something  of  their 
mighty  personality.  China,  the  most  literary  of  the 
non-Christian  nations,  has  no  books  to  speak  of,  aside 
from  one  library  of  one  hundred    and    sixty-eight  thou- 


254  CHINAS  NEW  DAY 

sand  volumes,  and  small  libraries  in  the  eighteen 
provinces  and  little  gatherings  of  books  in  the  Bud- 
dhist monasteries.  But  if  Confucianism  were  as  good 
a  patron  of  books  as  is  Christianity  in  America  there 
would  be  in  the  Celestial  Kingdom  to-day  more  than 
twenty-nine  thousand  libraries,  each  averaging  eighty- 
five  hundred  volumes. 

"In  the  diffusion  of  literature  the  non-Christian  faiths 
.  .  .  (may  be  compared  with  the  Christian).  .  •  .  Not 
until  the  Brahmans,  the  Buddhists,  the  Confucianists 
and  the  Mohammedans  of  the  world  flood  Christendom 
annually  with  381,166,106  pages  of  non-Christian  litera- 
ture will  they  do  what  the  united  mission  presses  are 
now  doing  with  Christian  literature  in  non-Christian 
lands.   .   ,    . 

"To  take  up  the  comparative  circulation  of  the  Sacred 
Books.  Not  until  the  erudite  scholars  of  China  send 
forth  Mencius  and  Confucius  in  four  hundred  and 
twenty-six  translations,  and  circulate  them  broadcast 
throughout  Africa  and  among  the  American  aborigines 
as  well  as  among  the  white  barbarians  shall  we  believe 
that  their  philosophy  of  life  will  prevail  among  all 
nations."  (Edward  P.  Tenney,  "Contrasts  in  Social 
Progress,"  p.   205.) 

"The  most  important  thing  in  China  just  now  is  that 
the  women  be  educated."     (Yuan  Shi  ki.) 


QUESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

1.  Show  how  the  need  of  translation  of  the  best  books 
of  the  West  into  Chinese  opens  a  new  field  for  work. 

2.  Are  the  gifts  for  this  necessarily  the  same  as  those 
needed  for  the  usual  type  of  missionary  work? 

3.  If  you  could  translate  into  Chinese,  what  ten  books 
would  you  select  first? 


THE   PRINTED    PAGE  255 

4.  If  jou  could  translate  one  brief  tract  containing  a 
statement  of  Christian  truth,  what  one  would  jou 
select   ?  What  are  the  greatest  tracts  ever  written? 

6.  Aside  from  religious  literature  what  do  jou  think 
the  greatest  need  in  the  way  of  reading  matter  on  the 
part  of  Chinese  Christians? 

6.  What  countries  are  the  heaviest  purchasers  of  the 
Bible? 

7.  What  is  the  relation  of  the  colporteur  to  other 
forms  of  missionary  work? 

8.  What  would  it  cost  to  supply  a  station  with  a 
hundred  Chinese  Bibles  and  Testaments? 

9.  Describe  the  methods  of  Bible  study  in  mission 
schools. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Tiie  list  of  books  that  follows  will  be  foiuid  valuable 
for  reference  and  should  be  put  into  public  libraries.  A 
Committee  from  leading  churches  can  secure  this  in 
almost  any  town  without  difficulty.  If  study  classes 
desire  any  or  all  of  the  books  they  may  be  obtained 
through  the  Central  Committee  on  United  Study  of 
Missions,  West  Medford,  Mass. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The   Changing    Chinese,    Professor    Ross    (Century). 
$2.40. 

Of  compelling  interest. 
Changing  China,    Lord  and   Lady   Cecil   (Macmillan). 
$2.00. 

Written   by  commissioner    sent  out  to   locate  the 
Oxford  Mission. 
Things  Chinese,  Dyer  Ball  (Scribner's).     $4.00. 
A  mine  of  information. 

Under  the  Empress   Dowager,  Bland  and  Backhouse 
(Lippincott).    $4.00. 

An  authoritative  account. 
Two   Years    in   the    Forbidden    City,    Princess   Der 
Ling  (Moffatt,  Yard).     $2.00. 

A   fascinating  and  reliable  account  of  court  life  by 
a  lady  in  waiting. 
The  Education   of   Women  in  China,  Margaret  Bur- 
ton (Revell).     $1.50. 

The  best  book  on  the  subject,  indispensable. 
Educational  Conquest  of  the  Far  East,  R.  E.  Lewis 
(Revell).     $1.00. 

Not  new,  but  valuable. 
The  China  Mission  Year  Book,  1910  and  1911.     2  vol. 
(Christian  Lit.  Soc,  Shanghai.) 

Two  exceedingly  valuable  handbooks. 
New  Forces  in  Old  China,  Arthur  J.  Brown  (Revell). 

An  admirable  survey  of  the  situation. 
Medical  Missions  :  Their   Place   and    Power,   John 

Lowe  (Revell).     $1.50. 
China  and  America  To-day,  Arthur  H.  Smith  (Revell). 
$1.25. 

Stimulating  and  suggestive. 
Chinese  Characteristics,  Arthur  H.  Smith  (Revell). 
$2.00. 

Illustrated — indispensable 


258  BIBLIOGRAPHT 

Village   Life    in    China,    Arthur    H.    Smith  (Revell). 
$2.00. 

A  sociological  study — invaluable. 
China    in  Convulsion,  Arthur  H.   Smith    (Revell).     2 
vol.     $5.00. 

A  superb  study  of  the  Boxer  uprising — a  wealth  of 
illustrations,  charts,  maps,  etc. 
Court  Life  in  China,  A.  H.  Headland  (Revell)*. 

An  intimate  picture  of  court  life,  finely  illustrated. 
The  Real  Chinaman,  Chester  Holcombe. 

Full  of  human  interest. 
Yankees  of  the  East,  W.  E.  Curtis. 
Opportunities   in  the    Path  of   the    Great    Physi- 
cian, Valeria  F.  Penrose  (Westminster  Press) .    $1.00. 
Illustrated.     Very     readable    account    of     Medical 
Missions. 
China's  Book  of  Martyrs,  Luella  Miner  (Westminster 
Press).     $1.50. 

Record  of  heroic  martyrdoms  in  1900, 
A  Yankee  on  the  Yangtze,  W.  E.  Geil  (Armstrong). 
$2.00. 

Very  attractive  book    of    travel,  fine    illustrations, 
favorable  to  missions. 
The  Coming  China,  J.  K.  Goodrich  (McClurg) .     $1.50. 

Exceedingly  interesting  survey — well  illustrated. 
Drugging  a  Nation,  Samuel  Merwin. 

A  history  of  the  Chinese  opium  curse. 
The    Revolution,   of    China,    Arthur  Judson    Brown, 
D.D.,  212  pp.,  24  illustrations,  map  of  China.    75  cts. 
A  valuable  reference  book. 


INDEX 


Abcel,  David,  p.  119. 

Acupiiiicfiiro,  p.  180. 

Agriculture,  Chinese,  p.  141. 

Allen,  Dr.  Young  J.,  p.  13. 

American  Bible  Society,  p. 
252. 

American  influence  in  luiu- 
cation,  pp.  15,  76,  100, 
109,  113,  116,  124.  130. 
132,  142,  172,  189,  240. 

Anglo-Chinese  College, 
Shanghai,  p.  72. 

Battle  of  Assam,  p.  2. 

Baptist  Missions,  American, 
pp.  119,  122,  148,  151. 

Baptist  Missions,  English, 
p.  121. 

Bashford,  Bishop,  pp.  110, 
153. 

Bement,  Dr.  Lucy  P.,  p- 
194. 

Bible  in  China,  pp.  240,  249, 
251-252. 

Bible  Women,  pp.  153,  175. 

Bixby,  Josephine  M.,  Hos- 
pital, p.  186. 

Black,  Mary,  Hospital,  p. 
193. 

Boone  College,  p.   127. 

Boxer  Uprising,  pp.  21,  34, 
125,  143,  171,  184,  247. 

British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  p.  251. 

Bryan,  Col.  W.  J.,  Testi- 
mony of,  p.  146. 

Brown,  Dr.  A.  J.,  p.  31. 

Bubonic  Plague,  p.  182. 

Buddhism,  pp.  139,  140,  141, 
231-233. 

Burton,  Margaret,  p.  131. 

Cambridge  University  Mis- 
sion, p.  126. 

Canton  Christian  College, 
pp.  126,  128. 

Canton  Hospital,  pp.  188, 
209. 

Ceremony,  Chinese  love  of, 
p.  4. 

Chang  Chih-tung,  p.  243. 

Chengtu,  Union  Educational 
Work  in,  p.  23. 


Chesnut,  Dr.  Eleanor,  p. 
211. 

Chicago  University  Mis- 
sion, p.  126. 

Chih-tung,  Chang,  p.  14. 

China,  Importance  of,  p.  43. 

"China's  Only  Hope,"  pp. 
13,  14,  243. " 

Chinese  Christians,  pp.  69, 
73,  138,  142,  143,  144,  148. 

Chinese  family  customs,  pp. 

56.  65,  66,  67,   75,   77,   81, 

82,  86,  130. 

Chinese  language  chang- 
ing, p.  31. 

Chinese,  moral  character  of, 
pp.  36,  37,  75,  76,  143,  246. 

Chino-Japanese  War,  pp.  1, 
35. 

Chinese  superstition,  p.  79. 

Chinese  Women  Physicians, 
p.  198. 

Chinese  Classics,  Confu- 
cian, p.  92. 

Chinese  Classic,  One  Thou- 
sand Character,  pp.  91, 
223. 

Church  Union  in  America, 
p.  123. 

Classics    for   girls,    pp.    47, 

57,  90. 

Christian  Chinese  Women, 
pp.   3,  69,  73,   76,  78,   79, 

83,  84,  148,  153,  168,  189. 
Christianity,  quality  of  Chi- 
nese,   pp.   69,  73,  83,  138, 
143-148,  154,  164,  167-172, 
174,  184. 

Christian  Union  Effort,  pp. 
120,  148,  150,  207. 

Christians  (Disciples),  Mis- 
sion of,  pp.  122,  149,  150. 

Church  of  England  Mis- 
sions, pp.  120,  121. 

Coal  deposits,  p.  17. 

Concubinage,  pp  66,  85. 

Confucius,  pp,  76,  133,  138. 

Confucianism,  p.  140. 

Conger,  Mrs.,  her  services, 
pp.  23,  54. 


260 


INDEX 


Congregational ist  Missions, 
pp.  118.  120,  147,  152,  171, 
194,  209. 

Conservatism,  p.  1. 

Constitutional  Commission, 
pp.  25,  111. 

Contrasts  between  Chinese 
and  Western  customs,  p. 
37. 

Denby,  Col.  Charles,  testi- 
mony of,  p.  145. 

Dennis,  Rev.  J.  S.,  pp.  81, 
83,  84. 

Disease  in  China,  pp.  178, 
210. 

Ding,  Pastor,  Chinese 
Evangelist,  pp.  162-163. 

East  China  Union,  p.  122. 

East  China  Union  Medical 
College,  p.  122. 

Edicts  of  Kuang  Hsii,  pp. 
15,  16,  17,  18,  35,  102,  104, 
105. 

Edict  of  Hsuan  Tung,  pp. 
29,  30. 

Education,  classical  system 
of,  pp.  89-95,  98,  99. 

Education,  classical  system, 
defects  of,  pp.  94,  96,  100. 

Educational  revolution,  pp. 
15,  26,  38,  72,  74,  77,  88, 
102,  104,  105-109,  113,  124, 
132. 

Educatior.  of  girls,  pp.  46, 
74,  76,  77,  110-112,  113, 
117-121.  130,  135-137,  163, 
206,  224. 

Education,  established  by 
Western  universities,  p. 
125. 

Emperor  Kuang  Hsii,  pp. 
7-12,  18,  19,  35,  101. 

Empress  Dowager,  birthday 
gift  to,  pp.  3-5;  career  of, 
pp.  5-7,  59,  106;  deposes 
emperor,  p.  19;  issues 
edicts,  pp.  22,  25,  26,  40, 
107;  reactionary  policy, 
pp.  34,  40,  43,  106;  cor- 
ruption of  her  court,  p.  37. 


Eng,  Dr.   Hii  King,  pp.  198, 

220. 
England,  aggressions  of,    p. 

36. 
Eunuchs  in  palace,  pp.  7,  8, 

37. 
European  politics,  p.  13. 
Evangelists,     Chinese,     pp. 

148,  162. 
Factors      in      making      New 

China,  p.  1. 
Feng  Shua,  pp.  17,  79,  96. 
Fergusson,    Rev.    John    C, 

p.  16. 
Fisher,     Isabelle,    Hospital, 

p.  205. 
Foochow      University,      pp. 

72,  123. 
Foot-binding,  pp  57,  58. 
French  Aggressions,  p.  21. 
Friends,  Mission  of,  p.  122. 
Fulton,  Dr.   Mary,   of   Can- 
ton, pp.  188,  209. 
Gamewell,  Mary    Porter,  p. 

209. 
Generosity     of     Chinese 

Christians,  p.  144. 
German     Aggressions,     pp. 

20,  35,  102. 
Glass,  Dr.  Anna  D.,  p.  207. 
Goforth,   Mr.,   of   Canadian 

Presbyterian    Mission,    p. 

164. 
Government  universities 

have      missionary      presi- 
dents, p.  15. 
Great  Britain,  opium  treatv 

of,  p.  24. 
Gregg,   David,    Hospital,   p. 

188. 
Hackett     Medical     College, 

pp.  188,  189. 
Hankow       Union       Medical 

College,  p.  122. 
Harvard,    the     Chinese,     p. 

125. 
Hay,  John,  p.  104. 
Hayes,  Rev.  W.  M.,  pp.  15, 

108. 
Hian,  Aunt,  p.  155. 


INDEX 


261 


Hope  and  Wilhelmina   Hos- 
pitals, p.  191. 
Hospitals,  pp.  186-205. 
Husbands,  lieiipecked,  p.  50. 
Illustrative    quotations,    pp. 

34,  75,  128,  166,  218,  248. 
Immorality,     Chinese,     pp. 

83,85. 
Imperial   Postal  System,   p. 

32. 
Industrial      Conditions,      p. 

142. 
Infanticide,  p.  81. 
Intellectual    revolution,  pp. 

1,  13,  14,  15,  38.  62,  133. 
Interdenominational    eftort, 

pp.  120-124. 
Japan,  pp.  2,  3,  35. 
Japanese  education,   p.  124. 
Japanese    thoroughness,    p. 

183. 
Jones,  Rev.  G.  Ileber,  p.  2. 
Kahn,  Dr.  Ida,  p.  201. 
Kiaochiao,    seized    by    Ger- 
many, p.  20. 
Kindergartens,    pp.  150-153. 
Korea,  p.  2. 

Kuang  Hsii,  pp.  7-21,  243. 
Language,       remarkable 

changes  in,  p.  31. 
Li  Hung  Chang,  pp.  23,  35, 

54. 
Literature,       Chinese,       pp. 

221-230. 
Literature,  Chinese  venera- 
tion for,  pp.  221,  246. 
London  Missionary  Society, 

pp.  116.  121,  122^ 
Luke,  Gospel  of,  p.  8. 
Ma,  General,  story  of,  p.  52. 
Macklin,    Dr.,  of   Nanking, 

p.  211. 
Manchus,  p.  29. 
Mandeville,    Sir     John,      p. 

236. 
Martin,    Dr.    W.    A.    P.,    pp. 

15,  34,  105,  117. 
Martyrdom     of    Chinese 

Christians,     pp.     143-144, 

174,  184. 


Mateer,  C.  W.,  p.  117. 

Medical  Missions,  pp.  122- 
126,  177-220. 

Medicine,  Chinese,  pp.  179- 
181. 

Mencius,  p.  143. 

Methodist,  Canadian,  Mis- 
sions, p.  122. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Mis- 
sions, pp.  120,  121,  122. 
153,  154,  193,  205,  209. 

Miner,  Miss,  of  Peking,  p. 
118. 

Mineral  wealth  of  China,  p. 
17. 

Mines,  Board  of,  p.  17. 

Mission  Presses,  p.  250. 

Missionaries  Medical,  need 
of,  pp.  215-217. 

Missionaries,  win  govern- 
ment approbation,  p.  33. 

Missionaries,  testimony  to, 
p.  145-146. 

Mohammedan  missions,  pp. 
237-238. 

Mongol  girls'  school,  pp. 
111-114. 

Municipal  improvement,  p. 
33. 

Nanking  University,  pp.  72, 
122. 

Nestorian   Missions,  p.  235. 

Nevius,  John  L.,  p.  117. 

New  Testament  sent  to  Em- 
press, p.  3. 

Newspapers,  Chinese,  p. 
247. 

North  China  College,  Foo- 
chow,  p.  118. 

Nursery  rhymes,  pp.  90,  91. 

Nurses,  Chinese,  pp.  189, 
190,  210. 

Oberlin  College,  Mission 
of,  p.  126. 

Opium  problem,  pp.  23,  24, 
25,  39,  62,  63. 

Opportunity,  Supreme,  in 
China,  p.  74. 

Paoting-fu,  Princeton  Mis- 
sion in,  p.  126. 


262 


INDEX 


Parker,  Peter,  medical  mis- 
sionary, p.  188. 

Peking  Gazette,  pp.  98,  105. 

Peking  University,  pp.  72, 
102. 

Persecution  of  Chinese 
Christians,  pp.  14.3,  174, 
184. 

Philosophy,  Chinese,  p.  228. 

Physical  suffering  in  China, 
p.  178. 

Plague,   fighing  the,  p.  182. 

Poetry,  Chinese,  pp.  225- 
228. 

Political  Amnesty,  p.  30. 

Port  Arthur,  seized  by 
Russia,  pp.  20,  35. 

Postal  Service,  pp.  31,  32. 

Presbyterian  Missions,  pp. 
117,  121,  122,  208. 

Presbyterian  Missions,  Ca- 
nadian, p.  164. 

Princeton  College,  Mission 
of,  p.  126. 

Protestant  Advance,  pp. 
166,  172,  239. 

Protestant  Episcopal  Mis- 
sions, pp.  120,  191,  192. 

Provincial  assemblies,  p.  27. 

Public  school  system  inau- 
gurated by  missionary,  p. 
16. 

Publishing  houses,  Chinese, 
p.  247. 

Questions  in  review,  pp.  44, 
87,  137,  175,  220,  254. 

Railroads,  Board  of,  p.  16; 
expansion  of,  pp.  16,  33 ; 
loans,  p.  29. 

Reformed  Church  Missions, 
pp.  119,  155,  191.  249. 

Reifsnyder,  Dr.,  of  Shang- 
hai, p.  193. 

Revivals,   pp.  162-165,  167. 

Revolution,  Chinese,  pp. 
41,  42,  43,  54,  62,  211-214. 

Richard,  Rev.  Timothy,  pp. 
13,  16,  244,  253. 

Roman  Catholic  Missions, 
pp.  233-236. 


Russian  aggressions,  pp.  20, 

35,  102. 
Sanitary      conditions,       pp. 

178,  210. 
Schools,   missionary,   p.  72. 
Shanghai,  p.  125. 
Shansi  University,  p.  108. 
Shantung  Union,  p.  121. 
Single  tax  in  China,  p.  214. 
Sleeper       Davis     Memorial 

Hospital,  p.  196, 
Smith,    Rev.  A.  H.,   pp.  75, 

77,  118,  133. 
Society     for     diffusion     of 

Christian     knowledge,    p. 

243. 
St.  Elizabeth's    Hospital,  p. 

192. 
St.  Luke's  Hospital,  p.  192. 
St.    John's    University,    pp. 

72,  125,  131-132. 
Stone,  Dr.  Mary,  p.  200. 
Student    vevivals,    pp.    162- 

163. 
Sunday  schools,  pp.  159-161. 
Sun  Yat  Sen,  p.  171. 
Szechuan,  opium  reform  in, 

p.    25;    rising    in,    p.    29; 

education  in,  p.  122. 
Tang  poetry,  p.  226. 
Taoism,  pp.  139,  141. 
Telegraph  system,  p.  33. 
Teng  Chou  College,  p.  132. 
Tenney,  Rev.  C.  D.,  pp.  15, 

16,  l09,  117,  254. 
Translation  of  Bible,  p.  251. 
Translations    of    English 

Works,  pp.  190,  242-246. 
Training  schools  for  nurses, 

pp.  191,  210. 
Tsao,  Lady,  Chinese  author, 

p.  54. 
Tuang  Fang,  p.  130. 
Turner,   Julia    M.,    training 

school,  p.  189. 
Union  missionary  activities, 

pp.  120-127,  148,  150,  207. 
Union    Medical   College  for 

women,  p.  207. 
Wang,   Old  Mother,   pp.  73, 

156. 


INDEX 


263 


Wang,  Dr.,  Chinese  martyr, 
p.  185. 

VVeihsien  College,  p.  121. 

Wesleyan  missions,  p.  122. 

Westwater,  Dr.  Macdonald, 
p.  211. 

Woman,  a  noble,  her  brave 
deed,  pp.  69,  114. 

Woman's  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, p.  150. 

Woman's  position  chang- 
ing, pp.  62,  73,  76,  78,  83. 

Women,  Chinese,  impor- 
tance of,  pp.  45,  76,  78, 
80;  education  of,  pp.  46, 
47,  48,  112.  130,  131,  189 ; 
edit  newspaper,  p.  48; 
learned  lady,  p.  48;  poets, 
pp.  49,  59,  225;  position 
in  the  home.  pp.  53,  57, 
65,  73,  76,  81,   189;   admi- 


ration of  American  home, 
p.  55;  artists,  p.  59; 
rulers,  pp.  59,  60 ;  demi- 
monde, pp.  64,  83;  the 
slave  girl,  pp.  67,  69-71, 
83;  the  concubine,  pp.  66, 
83,  85;  the  Bible  woman, 
pp.  153,  175;  the  nurse, 
p.  190;  physical  needs  of, 
pp.  186,  189,  219;  the 
physician,  p.  198. 

Woman's  Union  Missionary 
Society,  p.  193. 

Yale  University, the  Chinese 
mission  of,  p.  125. 

Yuan  Shi  Ki,  governor  of 
Shantung,  pp.  16,  22,  77, 
108. 

Yu-wei,  Kang,  "the  young 
Confucius,"  p.  14. 

Yu,  Miss,  Chinese  evange- 
list, p.  148. 


WESTERN  WOMEN  IN 
EASTERN  LANDS 

OUR    JUBILEE    VOLUME 


BY 

HELEN  BARRETT  MONTGOMERY 


This  remarkable  book  is  a  history  of 
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The  exquisite  leather-covered  Jubilee  edi- 
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